ᐅ Weekend home up to €150,000 in Brandenburg

Dear forum,

We live in Berlin and are about to purchase a building plot in Brandenburg:

- 1200 m² (13,000 sq ft)
- Building land according to §34
- No zoning plan; according to the building authority, 1.5 stories are permitted
- Formerly forest, completely cleared

We do not plan to live there permanently but want to use the plot for weekends and holidays. Ideally, we would have liked to simply put a mobile home or holiday cabin on the land and use it. But that is apparently not allowed, or at least a building permit is always required, and energy saving regulations must be met, correct?

What we want (if it has to be a "proper" residential house):

- 80–100 m² (860–1,080 sq ft) of living space
- Preferably with open ceilings and/or a gallery
- Fireplace
- Good connection between indoor living area and garden
- €150,000 (max. €200,000) plus additional construction costs

What are your suggestions for creating affordable living space? I am reluctant to finance a prefabricated house costing around €250,000–300,000 just for weekend use.

We have already looked at:

- Thule Kubus
- Nordic Haus Igelmann
- Bien-Zenker Ambience Bungalows - 77 - V4

€200,000 for the house + xx € for the land to use it for leisure, phew 😎

A friend of mine wants to do something like this in Poland. There are a few companies that can do it very well for around €60,000-80,000. Timber frame construction with heating, etc.

Maybe 2-3 old caravans for little money could help you as well, which you can convert and use as a stationary setup?

Hello Tom,

Thank you for your reply. You have already understood our dilemma. Initially, we never intended to spend so much money on this. However, it currently seems to me that I cannot simply place a small "garden shed" in a residential area according to Section 34 (building permit / planning permission). And once you start building a "proper" house, the question quickly arises whether a tiny house, for example, makes economic sense, as these often have high prices per square meter.

I am interested in the forum’s experiences regarding whether an uninsulated wooden hut with, for example, 94mm (3.7 inches) logs would be permissible, or if I must comply with energy efficiency regulations in any case.

Can you recommend companies that do this?

Patrick. schrieb:

Hello Tom,

Thank you for your reply. You have already understood our dilemma. Initially, we never planned to spend that much money on it. But at the moment, it seems to me that I can’t just put a small "garden shed" in a residential area under §34. And once you start building a "real" house, the question quickly arises whether something like a tiny house makes economic sense, since they also tend to have high prices per m² (square meter).

I’m interested in the forum’s experience regarding whether, for example, an uninsulated wooden cabin with about 94mm (3.7 inches) logs would be allowed, or if I have to comply with the energy saving regulations in any case.

Can you recommend companies that do this?

I searched a bit online. The company Drewnex builds year-round wooden houses for relatively low costs. The problem will probably be the building permit / planning permission. You might need to find an architect in Berlin who is fluent in both languages. Here is an example of such a house:

267,000 zl = approx. 60,000 €. What additional costs might apply, I don’t know.

Patrick. schrieb:

It just seems to me currently that I can’t simply place a small "garden shed" in a residential area according to §34.

In a §34 residential area, you are allowed to build anything that fits in, so a house like those in the neighborhood is definitely possible, even a small one, but no matter how rarely you plan to use it, it must always fully comply with the valid thermal insulation standards for year-round houses. Tiny houses are usually excluded mainly for design reasons.
Given the plot size, I would consider building a "second holiday unit," which you can leave unrented during your own weeks of use to have the house to yourself. For example, you could start with a small bungalow and add a converted attic with an external staircase. This way, a family of friends can also stay there on vacation, and rental through holiday apartment platforms can help finance the house a bit faster.

Patrick. schrieb:

You have already recognized our dilemma.

I’m in a similar situation—though without a holiday property—in the old federal states, where the garden cottage culture is almost unknown. You are directed to allotments in small garden clubs, and any use for recreational housing is viewed as landscape protection.

---

https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

Just for understanding..

Why would someone buy or want to buy a very large plot of land in a residential area (which others might be able to use better) just to spend holidays there?
If you go there on weekends, it’s only work for you..