Saxony's skilled trades demand less regulation

In view of the problems facing the construction industry, Saxony's skilled trades are calling for faster approval procedures and less regulation. "The crisis continues to be characterized by a lack of orders on the one hand, and high costs and therefore high construction prices on the other," said Uwe Nostitz, President of the Saxon Crafts Association, in Dresden. In view of the housing shortage, there is no way around a rapid revival of the construction industry.

This is about more than just money from the state. "First and foremost, it's about speed and significantly less regulation," said Nostitz. What is needed is simpler construction, less bureaucracy, more incentives and efficiency in housing construction. The priority for this is to speed up planning and approval procedures. At the same time, the Handwerkstag warned against making construction even more expensive through new regulations. "What is needed instead is to streamline and speed up construction processes.

Declining trend in approvals and turnover

According to the Crafts Day, well over 10,000 new homes were approved annually in Bavaria between 2018 and 2022, but the trend has been declining since then: 8,872 in 2023 and just 7,133 in 2024. The number of approved buildings for public and commercial use also decreased - from around 1,500 per year until 2021 to just over 1,000 last year. Accordingly, turnover growth during this period fell from around 21 percent to around 3 percent - with construction prices rising.

Expectations of politicians at federal and state level

At federal level, the Handwerkstag is calling for reliable, easy-to-use funding pots, tax relief and less bureaucracy for clients and contractors. "With at least a lower land transfer tax and an exemption from property tax, potential builders should receive investment incentives." And the building trade must "finally be freed from excessive requirements for energy-efficient construction and the energy-efficient refurbishment of existing buildings".

The building trade has high hopes for the amendment to the building code, which is intended to make it easier for municipalities in areas with a tight housing market to build apartments, for example.

However, this should not lead to the displacement of trades and small businesses if inner-city commercial buildings are suddenly "converted" into residential buildings, warned the umbrella organization for tradespeople, which, according to its own information, represents over 54,000 companies with a total of around 280,000 people.