EU plans: the forced renovation will be so expensive

The EU wants to massively promote climate protection in the building sector.

The plans envisage a refurbishment obligation for all homeowners in the EU by 2033.

The costs for this would be enormous.

Brussels – First the ban on heating by the traffic light government, now also a refurbishment obligation from Brussels: expensive years are coming to owners.

The European Commission wants to massively promote climate protection in the building sector with a new building directive.

All new residential buildings are to be emission-free by 2030.

And by 2033, all residential buildings in the EU should have achieved energy efficiency class D.

But this is often only possible if owners invest heavily in the renovation of their older houses.

Energy classes for residential buildings: That already exists

There are currently nine energy classes in the building sector in Germany, from A+ to H. The energy requirement of the property is decisive for the classification.

This results not only from the heating system, but also from factors such as the insulation, energetic weak points, as well as the size and potential of a property.

Experts calculate an energy class.

However, the decisive variable is the final energy value.

It states how much energy the property actually consumes per year.

It is given in kilowatt hours (kWh) per square meter of usable area (m2a).

In Germany, around a third of all apartments currently have an energy class of F, G or H. Only 13 percent of the properties have an energy class of A+, A or B. In the case of new buildings, it is at least 71 percent, according to a study by the real estate service provider McMakler by 2021. According to this, most properties in Germany (75 percent) have an energy class of D or lower.

If the EU's plans are implemented, according to McMakler's figures, 58 percent of German residential properties would have to be renovated by 2033 in order to achieve an energy class of D or higher.

However, the real estate service providers point out that a good 46 percent of owners in Germany do not even know what energy class their building has.

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Consumers save on heating costs with a simple trick.

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Renovation plans of the EU: According to the trade association, this is what the renovation costs

In Germany, the vast majority of homeowners are faced with renovation work.

How much is all this going to cost?

Bild asked

the

association and published two example calculations.

All of this ignores the fact that there is a shortage of skilled workers in most trades, so it is not clear who should do the work.

For a single-family house with 160 square meters of living space,

assumes costs of 93,950 euros.

This includes the cost of insulating the facades, replacing all windows and installing a heat pump.

For an 80 square meter apartment, the association calculates costs of almost 30,000 euros, assuming that the renovation costs in an apartment building are divided among the individual apartments.

For an apartment building with eight apartments and a total living area of ​​640 m², the costs amount to 229,250 euros.

EU wants to help people on low incomes with the costs

The EU does not want people who may not be able to afford the renovation to be left to bear the costs alone.

Financial incentives and other political measures should give priority to people with low incomes.

The Member States should also ensure that "forced evictions due to renovations" are prevented, according to the Commission proposal.

More details could emerge from the negotiations between the EU Parliament and member states.

The EU project is far from law.

The SPD in Germany is already resisting the plans.

Construction Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) said on Deutschlandfunk that the obligation to renovate is not compatible with the Basic Law.

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