ᐅ Existing House: Rebuild with the Same Floor Plan, Is a Building Permit / Planning Permission Required?

Good morning,

First, let me introduce myself briefly:

My name is Hans, I am 32 years old, and I come from the Unterallgäu region.

Since renting an apartment is getting too expensive for me in the long run, I am considering rebuilding an old, rather dilapidated small house (everything is still there, but it is at risk of collapse) on my parents’ agricultural farm property with the same floor plan—tear it down and rebuild, put on a new roof, and finish it.

The house was never used as living space but as a small workshop; however, it looks like a residential building.

Currently, there is no connection to the sewer system or fresh water supply, but electricity is available.

Am I allowed to rebuild and renovate it without a permit, aside from the fact that there is no wastewater or fresh water connection?

I assume I probably need a separate permit for that.

Maybe someone here knows about the protection of existing buildings (grandfathering) in this context.

Thank you

Hello Hans,

Agoist750 schrieb:

Since the money pit that is "rental apartment" is getting too expensive in the long run, I am considering rebuilding an old, quite dilapidated house (everything is still there but it is at risk of collapse) on my parents' agricultural farm property with the same floor plan. Just rebuild the walls, put on a new roof, and finish.

The house has never been used as living space but as a small carpentry workshop, although it looks like a residential building.

So far, there is no connection to the sewage system or fresh water, but electricity is available.

Am I allowed to rebuild and renovate this without permission, apart from the fact that there is no sewage or fresh water supply?

I think I probably need a special permit for this.

Agricultural buildings are a special case; keyword: agricultural retirement property.

You are not allowed to demolish or rebuild anything without permission; even less so on farms than on “regular” plots. Your very first step should be to visit the local building planning authority responsible for you and present your project there. If you’re lucky, they won’t impose many restrictions—if not, you won’t be allowed to make any changes.

Best regards, Bauexperte