Germany's new federal government coalition of conservatives and social democrats is pushing an ambitious construction plan called "Bau-Turbo" (Construction Turbo) to address the country's severe housing crisis. However, critics argue that the initiative will primarily benefit wealthy developers while failing to provide affordable housing where it's needed most. The plan aims to dramatically reduce construction approval times from an average of five years to just two months, but housing advocates warn it could worsen urban sprawl and environmental damage.
The housing shortage in Germany has reached critical levels, with the previous coalition government falling far short of its target to build 400,000 new housing units annually. In 2022 and 2023, construction reached only around 300,000 units each year, dropping to just over 250,000 in 2024. The crisis has pushed housing costs beyond what many can afford, with students in Munich now paying an average of 800 euros per month for a shared room, compared to the national average of 493 euros.
According to calculations by the Paritätische Wohlfahrtsverband (German Parity Welfare Association), 20 percent of Germany's population should now be considered poor, rather than the official figure of 15 percent, as even middle-income earners are being priced out of housing markets. The situation has contributed to rising homelessness, with a recent report from the Federal Association for Assistance to the Homeless (BAG W) documenting over 531,000 homeless individuals nationwide, with numbers continuing to rise.
The Construction Turbo legislation, which has already passed its first reading in the Bundestag, originally focused on areas with tight housing markets and projects with at least six housing units to maximize the number of people housed. However, the final version expanded to include rural "outer areas" and removed the minimum housing unit requirement, potentially allowing for extensive single-family home construction on the urban periphery.
Federal Building Minister Verena Hubertz, whose favorite phrase is "the excavators must roll again," initially wanted to limit the program to areas with strained housing markets. However, lobbying efforts succeeded in broadening the scope, raising concerns about unchecked suburban sprawl and land consumption. The legislation includes an experimental clause that relaxes building and planning regulations until the end of 2030, featuring shorter approval deadlines and eliminating municipal development plans.
A coalition of four major organizations - the Federal Chamber of Architects (BAK), Architects for Future Germany, German Environmental Aid (DUH), and the Parity Association - has strongly criticized the plan. At a joint press conference, they argued that the Construction Turbo threatens to worsen the housing crisis rather than solve it. Barbara Metz, federal executive director of DUH, stated that "building, building, building without purpose" doesn't help the world, noting that massive new construction produces enormous amounts of gray emissions that worsen the climate crisis.
Joachim Rock, managing director of the Parity Association, criticized the social imbalance of the plans, warning that "all speed is useless if you're driving in the wrong direction." Instead of prioritizing good and affordable housing, he argued, the initiative focuses one-sidedly on creating expensive and luxury properties. The critics fear that the accelerated timeline will lead to construction policy implemented with a sledgehammer approach.
The North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Architects has highlighted a critical flaw: the absence of mandatory construction requirements. This creates building rights without ensuring actual construction, potentially leading to land speculation that benefits wealthy investors rather than communities. The legislation could provoke rising infrastructure costs that municipalities cannot afford under Germany's debt brake rules.
Elisabeth Broermann from Architects for Future points out that Germany already has statistically more single-family homes than families, meaning the country is essentially "fully built." The problem lies in unequal distribution of existing housing and affordability issues. She advocates for a "renovation turbo" that focuses on urban areas where problems are most pressing, converting vacant buildings, unused roof spaces, and oversized apartments within months - cheaper, more climate-friendly, and without sealing new land.
A 2022 study by the Working Group for Contemporary Living (ARGE) found that up to 4.34 million housing units could be created from existing building stock through methods including adding floors to older residential buildings, office and administrative buildings, shopping centers, and parking garages, plus converting office, administrative, and non-residential buildings.
Andrea Gebhard, president of the Federal Chamber of Architects, emphasizes that land is a finite resource, and consuming it creates land competition, displaces agriculture and nature, and endangers sustainability. Good planning, she argues, means inner development before sprawl, affordable housing instead of profit projects, and quality instead of quick fixes at any price.
The alliance of organizations has issued a position paper calling for fundamental changes to the Construction Turbo plan, including limiting it to strained housing markets and inner-city areas within existing municipal boundaries, requiring new construction only for multi-family housing with six or more units, and establishing a binding quota of at least 50.1 percent for permanently affordable rental housing construction.
Despite the criticism, Minister Hubertz maintains that "brave municipalities can now add floors, increase density, and build in outer areas and have a strong instrument in their hands." However, critics argue that true courage would have meant resisting real estate lobby pressure. The plan appears to benefit major property owners like Vonovia, whose CEO Rolf Buch recently predicted "a long stable rise in real estate values," while failing to address the fundamental need for affordable housing that serves ordinary Germans rather than wealthy investors.
