The 2025 coalition agreement: Is the Building Type E Act entering its third round?

The long-planned Building Type E Act is intended to amend construction law and the law on contracts for work and services to make planning and building simpler, more innovative and more cost-effective. Following the ministerial bill published on 29 July 2024 and the legislative bill dated 4 November 2024, the coalition agreement reached between the CDU, CSU and SPD on 9 April 2025 now suggests renewed adjustments are on the way.

We have already reported on the planned Building Type E Act in our blog post from 16 August 2024. The proposed legislation addresses the problem that construction, of housing in particular, has become more complex and, above all, more expensive in recent years due to constantly rising building standards and the associated higher construction costs. The ministerial bill for a law to facilitate the construction of buildings under civil law (Building Type E Act) published by the German Federal Ministry of Justice on 29 July 2024 was intended to help solve this problem. The aim pursued with the Building Type E Act is to create a legal basis to allow planners to deviate with legal certainty from the generally recognised rules of technology in certain areas. Following almost unanimous criticism of the implementation of the planned changes, parts of the ministerial bill were fundamentally revised by the legislative bill published on 4 November 2024 and adopted by the cabinet on 6 November 2024. Nevertheless, the law was not passed in the 20th legislative period. The coalition agreement that has now been reached provides an opportunity to present the changes between the ministerial bill and the legislative bill and to provide an outlook.

Scope of contractual duty of performance simply clarified instead of the general rules of technology being made more specific

To increase legal certainty, the ministerial bill aimed to create the first provision of its kind on the recognised rules of technology within the framework of the proposed section 650a (3) sentence 1 German Civil Code (BGB). It envisaged a presumption rule according to which construction standards that contain safety-related specifications always constitute recognised rules of technology. By contrast, it was to be assumed that construction standards that merely reflect equipment and comfort features are not recognised rules of technology.

This regulatory doctrine was rejected in the legislative bill. According to the proposed section 650a (3) sentence 1 German Civil Code (BGB), only those technical standards and rules that relate exclusively to comfort or equipment features are mentioned. These are not to become part of the contractual duty of performance without express agreement to this effect.

The same is also to apply to technical standards and rules in accordance with the proposed section 650a (4) German Civil Code (BGB); this would authorise the federal government to use statutory instruments to determine standards and rules that make the use of innovative, sustainable or cost-effective construction methods or building materials considerably more difficult. However, this provision will only include those technical standards and rules that the federal states have not already made the subject of construction law in accordance with section 85 Model Construction Schedule.

In the interests of consumer protection, the legislative bill stipulates in the proposed section 650a (3) sentence 2 German Civil Code (BGB) a restriction with the effect that a consumer, as the employer, must be informed in a suitable manner and in good time before the contract is concluded of the areas of construction in which the contractor has deviated from the technical standards and rules specified in the proposed section 650a (3) sentence 1 German Civil Code (BGB) without express agreement. This notice is intended to give consumers the opportunity to familiarise themselves with certain standards and, if necessary, to expressly agree to comply with them in return for appropriate remuneration. The legislative bill expressly clarifies that otherwise compensation claims for pre-contractual breach of duty may be considered.

More specific standard for the absence of material defects and new duty to clarify costs in building contracts between expert contractors

A new chapter 4 is to be added for "Building contracts between expert contractors": The new proposed section 650o German Civil Code (BGB) is intended to explicitly facilitate deviation from the recognised rules of technology for building contracts between expert contractors. The provision is particularly relevant for deviations from technical standards and rules that are not already covered by the proposed section 650a (3) sentence 1 German Civil Code (BGB); thus for safety standards in particular. In future, no duty to inform consumers of the risks and consequences of deviating from the recognised rules of technology is to apply any longer.

Two additions were made to the previous ministerial bill in the legislative bill. The proposed section 650o (3) no. 1 German Civil Code (BGB) was fleshed out to the effect that in the absence of an agreement as to the condition of the property sold and in the event of deviation from the recognised rules of technology, there is only no material defect within the meaning of section 633 (2) sentence 2 German Civil Code (BGB) if, among other things, the quality of the design is ensured by an equivalent service. The ministerial bill only referred to an equivalent design being ensured. The legislative draft is based on the "state of the art" as a benchmark. If this is met, it can generally be assumed that an equivalent design exists. The "state of the art" represents the level of development of advanced processes which, in the prevailing opinion of leading experts, makes it appear certain that the stated objective will be achieved.

The legislative bill also added to the proposed section 650o (3) no. 2 German Civil Code (BGB) a duty on the part of the contractor to notify the employer. According to this, the contractor must inform the employer of any deviation from the general rules of technology, including the associated cost implications, before the work is performed.

Coalition agreement suggests a further revision of the Building Type E Act

In contrast, the coalition agreement reached between the CDU, CSU and SPD on 9 April 2025 states for now in general terms that building standards are to be simplified and building type E is to be secured. It further states that to this end the binding effect of standard-setting by self-governing organisations will be reviewed and reduced to a safety-relevant level. In addition, the coalition agreement once again holds out the prospect that deviations from the recognised rules of technology will no longer constitute a defect in future. In this respect, no deviations from the previous state of affairs can be deduced.

However, the coalition agreement also states that in future a legal link is to be made to the technical building regulations of the federal states to enable building type E under civil law. No corresponding provision can be found in the drafts published to date. It therefore remains unclear what is actually meant by this announcement. It is to be expected that the new federal government will continue the legislative process to readjust in particular the former presumption rule and the specifics subsequently added to the scope of the contractual duty of performance within the meaning of the proposed section 650a (3) sentence 1 German Civil Code (BGB). Irrespective of this, adjustments at the level of the technical building regulations of the federal states are also to be expected in any case.

We will of course keep you up to date about any changes in future.