ᐅ Additional Costs for Residential Units

Felix85 schrieb:

Is there an official regulation on what requirements must be met to qualify for subsidies for a residential unit with KfW40+ standard?

Yes, on the KfW websites.

Felix85 schrieb:

Are basically connections, insulation, and air filtration (and other building standards) sufficient?

No, as already mentioned. No opinions, just facts.

Felix85 schrieb:

Or does the building have to be fully completed, and do I need to provide the first tenant with access on the first day after construction is finished?

Yes, facts. This information is available on the KfW websites.

ypg schrieb:

That is why completion of construction is a prerequisite!!!

Already mentioned here on page 2.

Felix85 schrieb:

According to my (of course amateur) calculations, I estimate a ridge height of about 9.70 m (32 feet). Up to 10.5 m (34 feet) should not be an issue for the plot.

It will likely be higher. This is an opinion. Explanation: The staircase to the upper floor in the pitched roof must be accessible and therefore have a minimum clear ceiling height—not only at the stairs but also in the living area (residential unit). Furthermore, habitable rooms, including those in a secondary unit and especially if the unit is intended for rental as an officially approved apartment, must meet minimum ceiling height requirements, which depend on the regional building code. But your consultants have probably already informed you about this.
I don’t mind the rest of your comment at all 😉

11ant schrieb:

By the way, we don’t know whether you plan to build with rafters or trusses.

I have done some reading on this. Of course, it’s possible that I don’t fully understand yet, but it seems to me that a truss roof isn’t really an option because there are multiple beams running crisscross through the roof structure. That would rule out any possibility of finishing the attic.
That would leave either a rafter roof or a purlin roof. Overall, there is relatively little information about hip roofs, especially with a pitch of 30-35 degrees.
I will discuss this with my architect.
Do you have any advice on the roof construction and which type is generally most suitable for finishing the space?

ypg schrieb:

Yes, facts. You can read about it on the KFW pages.

I honestly could not find a clear list of exactly what has to be in place, even after some searching. Neither in the descriptions of the funding programs nor in the FAQs. One interesting point was that funding only applies to work done by other people or companies, not to owner-performed work. But that still doesn’t tell me precisely what stage of finishing must be completed for the KfW to consider it a legitimate separate dwelling unit.
So I simply contacted KfW customer service. Let’s see what they specifically require.

ypg schrieb:

In addition, habitable rooms, including those in a granny flat and especially when a rented, officially approved apartment is to be created, need to meet minimum ceiling height requirements, which depend on the regional building regulations.

I was honestly pleasantly surprised by the potential ceiling height in a hip roof. I sketched it assuming a 35-degree pitch. The house currently has a footprint of 10.5 x 10.5 meters (about 34.5 x 34.5 feet) with a 1 meter (3 feet) roof overhang. With a 35-degree pitch, the ceiling height reaches 1.50 meters (about 5 feet) within a few meters—that would be the point where I would start building the walls, meaning the living space would begin there. One meter (3 feet) further in, the ceiling height is already about 2 meters (6.5 feet). At the peak/middle, ceiling heights are around 4 meters (13 feet) (insulation and flooring are not included—that’s just a rough estimate). From my calculations, this results in additional living space of roughly 8 x 8 meters (about 26 x 26 feet) (or about 7 x 7 meters (23 x 23 feet) if you count only the area with a ceiling height around 2 meters (6.5 feet) and rising) in the attic.
Of course, I might be overlooking something important. But so far it looks quite promising and would provide more than enough space for me to not want to leave it unused—whether this becomes a subsidized official unit or simply a dwelling I finish without subsidy.

Felix85 schrieb:

35 degrees

Felix85 schrieb:

10.5x10.5

Felix85 schrieb:

Room height of 1.50 m (5 feet)

Felix85 schrieb:

As far as I calculated, this results in an additional living area of 8x8 meters (or approximately 7x7 meters)

I sketched your data, which you should do as well. These data were still missing.
Since I didn’t have a protractor handy, I used roof pitches (DN) of 30 and 45 degrees as a reference.
Roughly, it comes out as I expected:
You are making a conceptual mistake.
With 2 meters (6 feet 7 inches) room height, you get about 20 square meters (215 square feet). Of this, less (about 12 square meters / 130 square feet) is at 2.30 m (7 feet 7 inches) height. This is where the stairwell would have to be located. Also the bathroom shower. And the living area, assuming a minimum height of 2.30 m (7 feet 7 inches), if I am not mistaken.
If you want to stack soil pipes and drains for bathrooms and kitchen above each other, this should be in these central 12 square meters (130 square feet) on each floor.
And the stairs.
The knee wall of 1.50 m (5 feet) then determines where the windows in the attic are placed. Where would you see the emergency escape route in your plan?
Regarding the subordinate apartment itself (which ironically dominates the other two floors): how much rent could the credited 16 square meters (170 square feet) realistically generate? Who would be the target group for this "apartment"?
To my knowledge, it must be at least 25 square meters (270 square feet). I do not have a source for this.
Does this serve your "cost optimization"?
I am a bit surprised that according to your statement, there is already some planning, but the roof topic apparently hasn’t been considered at all, not even roughly in a cross-section in your mind.

Felix85 schrieb:

I have looked for a list of exact requirements but honestly couldn’t find one, despite quite some searching. Neither in the descriptions of the subsidies nor in the FAQs.

Because it is already included in other regulations that subsidies are only paid out after construction is completed.
Living spaces are also defined in the state building codes. Apartments too. Almost everything is defined—you just have to put it together.
The KFW assumes that an architect informs their clients accordingly.

There are simply many people who can only afford a house through various theoretical subsidies. Many come up with ideas, just like you, suddenly see a plot of land that is too expensive, start googling subsidies, talk about cost optimization, and don’t realize how much the idea of a granny flat (accessory dwelling unit) is dominating the house. The questions no longer revolve around how to build a nice, simple single-family home, but only around how to best realize such a granny flat concept—regardless of whether they even want to rent out the unit, not to mention the construction costs and rental tax issues.
It’s not something we see messed up in every third case, but the trend is increasing that people plan their own apartments or houses totally poorly.

ypg schrieb:

We don’t necessarily see a home or apartment being completely poorly planned three times a week here, but the trend is increasing.

Anyway. I can only admire your tireless effort and unfortunately have to admit that I must yield to the original poster’s brilliance and probably can’t do much more than wish them all the best in this case. (Günni, no Doornkaat today; some days I’m just too old for this world, so here’s to a Dujardin).

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ypg schrieb:

I sketched your data, which you should also do. Those details were still missing.

I have actually done that for quite some time already. With a roof overhang of 1 meter (3.3 feet), you end up with a roof area of 12.5 x 12.5 meters (41 x 41 feet). At a pitch of 35 degrees, you roughly reach an interior height of 1.5 meters (5 feet) after about 2 meters (6.6 feet) of roof slope. A room height of 2 meters (6.6 feet) inside is reached after approximately 2.7 meters (8.9 feet) of roof slope. If you subtract those 2 or 2.7 meters (6.6 or 8.9 feet) from both sides of the total 12.5 meters (41 feet), you get an internal attic space dimension of around 8 x 8 meters (26 x 26 feet) or 7 x 7 meters (23 x 23 feet), respectively.
Of course, this is calculated quite optimistically – you still need to consider how much space the insulation will take up – but basically, this is the direction it goes. It’s possible that I’m overlooking something major here, but I don’t know what it could be. From your explanations, I can’t see exactly what would be wrong with my estimate.

ypg schrieb:

Many come up with ideas just like you do, suddenly see an expensive plot, start googling for subsidies, talk about cost optimization, and don’t realize how much this concept of a separate apartment dominates the house.

Honestly: Feel free to judge others, but please count me out of that group. I can decide well myself when something dominates an idea and which compromises I’m willing to accept. I have to say that having three living units and the kitchens/bathrooms stacked above each other has not significantly limited me so far. I was able to align this quite well with my own plans. If it hadn’t worked out, I wouldn’t continue with this plan.

ypg schrieb:

that subsidies are only paid after construction is completed.

No one doubts that. The question is the precise definition of “construction completed” for the KfW subsidy. I’m very curious about their response. Until then, I’ll just wait before making any judgments or concrete plans.
Honestly, the subsidy for the third living unit is not a priority for me. If it’s possible, that’s great. Since the attic is intended to be used that way, I personally think that would be reasonable.
If it’s not possible because something prevents it from being classified as a separate living unit, I can live with that, too. Then I will simply convert it appropriately without that classification/subsidy. Since it will be used within the family, a formal legal classification as a living unit is not necessarily required.