Anyone who builds a prefabricated house in Germany soon learns the word Sonderwunsch, special request. The building description fixes the standard specification. The guide site fertighaus.de puts it simply: Abweichungen davon sind Sonderwünsche, departures from it are special requests. They usually cost extra. The examples are familiar to every builder: more sockets and data connections, underfloor heating instead of radiators, Parkettfußboden anstelle standardmäßig Laminat, parquet instead of the standard laminate. Changes agreed before signing always belong in the building contract.
housing
The Building Description
A builder who builds a house for a private customer in Germany must first hand over a detailed Baubeschreibung, a building description, in text form. It must arrive before the customer signs. Section 650j of the Civil Code requires it, and the introductory act to the Civil Code lists what it must contain. This includes the type and scope of the work, plans with room and floor areas, the energy, fire and sound insulation standard, the construction of all main trades, the interior finish and the building services. It must also give verbindliche Angaben zum Zeitpunkt der Fertigstellung, binding information on the completion date. The description becomes part of the contract, unless the parties agree otherwise. Any remaining doubt about what it covers counts against the builder.
No Lawn Mowing on Sunday
A federal noise regulation, the Geräte- und Maschinenlärmschutzverordnung, sets quiet times for machines used outdoors. In residential areas, the machines it lists may not be run at all on Sundays and public holidays, and not between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays. The list includes lawn mowers and leaf blowers. It also includes bottle banks, so the glass containers in residential areas may not be used on Sundays. Some of the loudest garden machines, such as leaf blowers, are also restricted on weekday mornings, at midday and in the early evening, unless they carry the EU eco-label. The midday rest, the Mittagsruhe, is not set in federal or state law. It is set, if at all, in leases, house rules or local bylaws.
Ask Your Friends
In a 2025 survey by the digital association Bitkom, 97 percent of people who had looked for a flat or house in the past five years had used information from friends and acquaintances. Online channels came second, at 87 percent, led by property portals at 81 percent. Die Wohnungssuche ist längst hybrid, said Bitkom’s Nastassja Hofmann. Wir klicken und scrollen – und fragen trotzdem noch Freundinnen und Freunde. The search for a home has long been hybrid. We click and scroll, and still ask our friends. The figure shows how many used such tips, not how many found a home that way.
Who Clears the Snow
In winter, every strip of German pavement has someone responsible for it. Towns are responsible first, but local bylaws usually transfer the duty to the owners of the adjoining property. Owners can pass it on to their tenants. According to the owners’ association Haus & Grund Passau, this works only if it is explicitly agreed in the lease, and the house rules alone are not enough. The duty usually runs on weekdays from 7:00 to 20:00. If someone slips because the path was not cleared or gritted, the person responsible can be sued for damages and for compensation for pain and suffering.
The Tenant Must Speak Up
Section 536c of the German Civil Code obliges a tenant to report a defect in the rented home unverzüglich, without delay. Mold, a broken heating system and water damage are typical cases. Tenants are advised to send the Mängelanzeige, the notice of defects, in writing. A tenant who says nothing must pay the landlord for the damage that results. If the landlord could not repair the defect because it was not reported, the tenant also loses the right to reduce the rent, to claim damages and to terminate without notice.
The District Chimney Sweep
Each chimney-sweep district in Germany has its bevollmächtigter Bezirksschornsteinfeger, the chimney sweep appointed for that district. Since 2013 owners may hire any chimney sweep for routine work such as measuring, sweeping and cleaning. Some tasks stayed with the district sweep alone. He carries out the Feuerstättenschau, the inspection of all fireplaces and heating systems in a building. The law requires it twice during his appointment, no sooner than three years and as a rule no later than five years after the last one. He also checks newly installed heating systems. Owners who miss the deadlines in his written notice risk a fine of up to 5,000 euros.
Leave the Wiring to the Electrician
In Germany, work on the electrical installation of a home may be done only by the grid operator or by an installation company entered in a grid operator’s register. Maintenance is the exception. A consumer guide on t-online explains what this means at home. Lamps may be hung up and taken down, but connecting them should be left to professionals. The electrical trades association says the same holds for work that seems simple, such as replacing a socket. A person who does it anyway must expect that the insurance will not pay after damage.
Describe the Symptom, Not the Cause
A client who reports a defect in building work to the contractor does not have to know its cause. The Federal Court of Justice has held this for many years under what is called the Symptomtheorie, the symptom theory. The client is not required to name the causes of the defect in detail. A description of the symptoms that such a defect typically produces is enough. For example, a homeowner may report a damp patch on the basement wall without knowing why it is damp.
Smoke Alarms, One State at a Time
In 2003 Rhineland-Palatinate changed its state building code to require smoke alarms in homes. The other states followed one by one. Berlin was the last, on 9 June 2016. Its rule applied to new and converted buildings from 2017, with a transition period for existing homes until 2020. From then on, the duty was written into the building law of all 16 states. At that time Saxony was the only state without a duty for existing apartments.