New life for old houses: A new federal government funding program is launched – Economy

Almost two million old residential buildings are empty in Germany. This is partly because it has often been cheaper to build new rather than to carry out expensive renovations. This is set to change with a new federal government funding program for families. “Young people buy old” is launching this Tuesday. It is aimed at families with children who buy an old property and justify the renovation. But the requirements are already attracting criticism.

What the program aims to achieve

Especially in small towns and communities, many older houses are for sale or empty. If young people move in, according to the idea of ​​Federal Construction Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD), it will save resources, revitalize village centers and inner cities, and help families fulfill their dream of owning their own home. “Families can, for example, move back to their old home, renovate an existing house there and at the same time take advantage of other renovation subsidies,” says Geywitz. Especially in rural and sparsely populated regions, this avoids the historic buildings in the village center standing empty and the people living in new buildings around them.

Who can apply for funding

The target group are families with underage children and low to medium incomes. Anyone who has one child may have a maximum taxable household income of 90,000 euros. With each additional child, this threshold increases by 10,000 euros. Anyone who receives child benefit for building a home or already owns a property cannot receive funding.

Clear framework conditions

The family must buy a house or an apartment and then live in it themselves. There is also no funding available if you convert an old house into a holiday home or rent it out. The funding is earmarked for a period of five years.

In addition, the house must be in a relatively poor energy condition. In the energy certificate it must be classified in the worst groups F, G or H. In Germany, the ministry applies to around 45 percent of all residential buildings.

The house must then be renovated within 54 months so that it achieves at least energy efficiency class 70 EE. This means that it uses 30 percent less energy than a building with the legal minimum standards. In addition, at least 65 percent of the heat generation must be converted to renewable energies – which usually also means replacing the heating system.

This is exactly what the funding looks like

The state development bank KfW offers loans at particularly favorable conditions. The initial interest rate is 1.51 percent for a 35-year loan term and a ten-year interest rate fixation.

The maximum loan amount depends on how many children you have: for one child, a maximum of 100,000 euros is available, for two children 125,000 euros, and for three or more children up to 150,000 euros. Loan terms of seven to 35 years and fixed interest rates of up to 20 years are possible.

A family with two children can save up to 18,000 euros with the low-interest loan, says Geywitz. In addition, you can also apply for other government subsidies for things like insulated facades and roofs, new windows or replacing an old heating system.

350 million euros are in the pot

This year, 350 million euros are available. However, the money will not be passed on one-to-one, but will be used to offset interest on the subsidized loans. The subsidized loan amounts will then be significantly higher.

What some people see critically

There is criticism, above all, of the strict requirements. For example, the state building societies believe that many families will find it difficult to raise the money needed for such extensive renovations, even with funding. Modernizing properties with such high energy consumption to such an extent within four and a half years “will either fail due to time constraints or money,” they explain.

For this reason, the association is already advocating that the time limits be extended if demand is lacking. “In addition, better energy efficiency classes could also be included in the funding so that the jump to the desired level is smaller and cheaper.” For climate protection, any renovation is better than no renovation – and more would be gained in the fight against the housing shortage if as many older properties as possible found a buyer.