ᐅ The city’s Passive House requirements are not included in the zoning plan (or development plan).
Created on: 17 Jul 2025 07:27
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Mathis.aenni
Hello dear forum,
We are new here since we recently have the opportunity to purchase a plot of land in a new development area. We have one of the five plots that cannot be connected to the local district heating network. We actually like this because it allows us to be self-sufficient with a heat pump and photovoltaic system. The development plan appears to be quite flexible in our opinion, with hardly any requirements that would significantly restrict us.
However, the property listing mentions a restriction: “-Passive house.” This is a very vague description in our view, because even after thoroughly reviewing all other public documents, including the development plan, the term passive house is nowhere mentioned. When we contacted various city offices to find the appropriate contact person, we encountered a lot of uncertainty about this topic. When we eventually found the planner of the development area, he gave us a brief answer on the passive house issue and referred us to a page in a 100-page PDF (IG Passive House Germany) containing the applicable requirements for our plots: Passive House Classic, heating demand 15 kWh/m²a (5.3 kBtu/ft²/year) and a maximum renewable primary energy demand of 60 kWh/m²a (21.1 kBtu/ft²/year).
Based on this information, we obtained initial offers from various prefabricated house manufacturers, many of whom cannot meet this very low heating demand and thus cannot provide a concrete offer.
Now for the main legal question: Isn’t the binding document for the building permit / planning permission the development plan? Other publicly available documents on Baupilot or at the city building authority do not list these limits. What is your assessment—if a building permit application with an energy certificate for a higher heating demand were submitted, would it withstand potential objections from the city in court?
Thank you in advance for your ideas and opinions on this tricky situation.
Mathias
We are new here since we recently have the opportunity to purchase a plot of land in a new development area. We have one of the five plots that cannot be connected to the local district heating network. We actually like this because it allows us to be self-sufficient with a heat pump and photovoltaic system. The development plan appears to be quite flexible in our opinion, with hardly any requirements that would significantly restrict us.
However, the property listing mentions a restriction: “-Passive house.” This is a very vague description in our view, because even after thoroughly reviewing all other public documents, including the development plan, the term passive house is nowhere mentioned. When we contacted various city offices to find the appropriate contact person, we encountered a lot of uncertainty about this topic. When we eventually found the planner of the development area, he gave us a brief answer on the passive house issue and referred us to a page in a 100-page PDF (IG Passive House Germany) containing the applicable requirements for our plots: Passive House Classic, heating demand 15 kWh/m²a (5.3 kBtu/ft²/year) and a maximum renewable primary energy demand of 60 kWh/m²a (21.1 kBtu/ft²/year).
Based on this information, we obtained initial offers from various prefabricated house manufacturers, many of whom cannot meet this very low heating demand and thus cannot provide a concrete offer.
Now for the main legal question: Isn’t the binding document for the building permit / planning permission the development plan? Other publicly available documents on Baupilot or at the city building authority do not list these limits. What is your assessment—if a building permit application with an energy certificate for a higher heating demand were submitted, would it withstand potential objections from the city in court?
Thank you in advance for your ideas and opinions on this tricky situation.
Mathias
M
Mathis.aenni17 Jul 2025 18:23We have not received it yet.
Unfortunately, it is not available yet.
nordanney schrieb:
@TE: What exactly does your purchase agreement say regarding district heating and passive house standards?
Unfortunately, it is not available yet.
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nordanney17 Jul 2025 18:40Mathis.aenni schrieb:
Unfortunately, it is not available yet.Then you have to stop the discussion here. If the quotation includes a building obligation with Passive House standard, everything else becomes irrelevant.
Mathis.aenni schrieb:
For me, the most important question remains: which document or applicable law could the city base its decision on to reject a building permit application on the grounds that limit values are not met—values that are not cited in any official city document or building pilot, except for the PDF referenced by the city planner. I believe such a "crucial" clause should be clearly visible to anyone before purchasing the plot (for example, in the justification for the zoning plan) without having to painstakingly obtain this information from the only city contact person who knows these limits. If my statements apply to your situation (that the district authority decides, and the municipality only provides a recommendation), the city cannot reject the application itself but can only recommend its rejection. A rejection is also a legal act, and the issuing authority must justify and be responsible for it. That is why I suggest establishing a consensus with that party. The head of the district building authority will not take responsibility for a rejection recommendation from the city based solely on "I don’t like this." The city, as an authority, is bound by applicable law; therefore, the passive house requirement would have to be included in the textual provisions of the zoning plan (and rely on the justification of the zoning plan) to be legally binding. The city, as the seller of the plot, on the other hand, has full freedom of contract and can agree to sell the land only to someone who shares their "private" point of view. In an extreme case, it could want to sell the plot only to a vegan whose last name starts with "Q." The land sale is a purely private-law matter, and the city, as a legal entity at this point, acts like a "company" and is not subject to objectivity. The visibility of the clause is sufficient in the purchase contract, which you will receive well in advance with a several-week period before the notary appointment. The notary will also read and explain this. No one is obligated to provide more "preliminary transparency" or even advice here; conversely, you are free to withdraw from the purchase interest without giving reasons. If the (mayor) cares about their image, your questions will be answered nonetheless.
Mathis.aenni schrieb:
I cannot say why a district heating connection is not possible for five plots (perhaps it was miscalculated). Then clarify this. Contact the building owner service of the local heat supplier, identify yourself as an interested party for the specific plot, and ask for a written response regarding the terms under which it can participate in the local heat supply. Also, request access to the land purchase contract from the seller (likely the city’s land registry office). Lawyers do not have crystal balls and cannot provide advice based on assumptions or hearsay. What matters, as I already said, is the enforceability of the condition in the purchase contract that the plot is to be developed as a passive house (and, of course, it must be defined when this condition is fulfilled). As I mentioned, I only partially see a locally heated house as a true passive house (it would really have to be a “very local” heat house for that). Presumably, this is the catch for these five plots (sorry, within the scope of the open pro bono consultation, I cannot study the zoning plan in detail but assume trivial reasons).
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Mathis.aenni schrieb:
The property listing mentions under restrictions "-Passive House". The term Passive House refers to a residential building that emphasizes energy efficiency, savings, renewable energy, and so on. The "original Passive House" no longer exists. The Passive House required here is a residential building according to the Building Energy Act, including district heating.
Mathis.aenni schrieb:
What is your assessment: if a building permit application with an energy certificate showing a higher heating demand value were submitted, could this withstand a city appeal in court? I do not think so at all.
nordanney schrieb:
The city can make demands, but they will end up facing a dead end with those demands. I don’t see these demands. A property listing is a marketing brochure, a project overview; it can be tentative, even somewhat imaginative or include drawing ideas and suggestions. It is also goal-oriented, but not binding in any way.
nordanney schrieb:
Then you have to end the discussion here. If the purchase contract includes an obligation to build a Passive House, everything else is irrelevant. The purchase contract is shown in Baupilot. It says nothing about that. Go for it.
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nordanney17 Jul 2025 22:47ypg schrieb:
An exposé is a promotional brochure, This is not an "exposé," but the official announcement for the application to the plots.
ypg schrieb:
The purchase contract is shown in Baupilot as well. But it is only a sample contract. This does not mean it will be signed as is – it still includes district heating, which, according to the specifications, is not even available. The original poster has not yet received any draft.
ypg schrieb:
The term Passive House defines a residential building, energy efficiency, saving, renewable energies, etc. The recognized (also internationally) definition of the Passive House comes from the PHI. This is not a
ypg schrieb:
residential building according to the Building Energy Act but meets the criteria mentioned in the opening thread. You are quite far from the Building Energy Act here.
Although I do not consider the values for Passive House (HWB/Primary energy) particularly demanding. For example, according to the energy certificate of my own renovated house, I am well below those.
nordanney schrieb:
The recognized (also internationally) definition of the passive house comes from the PHI. That is not Honestly? Just nonsense, I would say. At our new development area back then, the strict energy balance, KfW, building energy law—at that time KfW55—also hung like the sword of Damocles.
Nowhere was it actually written down, except in the promotional brochures! A year later, nobody talked about it anymore. These new development areas with their ideals are not uncommon, but should not be taken literally. By the way, our design framework was attached to our notarized contract.