Tight regulations making it costly for landlords to build homes

Berlin

GERMAN landlords have been complaining for years that cumbersome regulations make it complicated and expensive to build homes. Now, with 800,000 refugees forecast to arrive this year and nowhere for them to stay, politicians are beginning to see their point.

"We want to add storeys to our buildings, but it takes three to five years before you can get a permit," said Rolf Buch, chief executive officer of Vonovia SE, Germany's biggest private homeowner. "We have the financing and the demand, but the political process is too slow."

Germany's tight regulations make it one of the most expensive European countries to build housing at 34 per cent above the average, according to Eurostat. Offi…