ᐅ The city’s Passive House requirements are not included in the zoning plan (or development plan).
Created on: 17 Jul 2025 07:27
M
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
nordanney schrieb:
You are welcome to say so. But that’s how it is. When people talk about Passive Houses, they mean PHI-certified houses. That is simply the standard. Like the aRdT. No nonsense. By nonsense, I don’t mean you, but the community.