Building permits in Germany: four ways to cut delays

Herz — World Desk · 25 July 2026 at 14:38 · 30s summary · 2 min read

What we know

In Germany, building permit applications typically take several months, even for straightforward projects. Complex projects can take far longer, according to Handelsblatt.

Jan Philip Unger, chief executive of a Hamburg-based real estate development firm, argues that project developers can themselves have a major influence on how long the process takes.

His firm obtained both a heritage protection permit and a building permit for renovating a residential building's roof in less than 60 hours.

Four expert tips

Niko Schultz-Süchting, a real estate law partner at Freshfields, recommends contacting the building authority before even submitting an application. This step makes it possible to clarify important questions and identify potential objections at an early stage.

The most common cause of extended delays is submitting incomplete files. Authorities must then follow up with the applicant, which wastes precious time.

Unger recommends relying on the official checklists of documents required by authorities to systematically verify that all prerequisites—structural analysis, fire protection, and so on—are covered before submitting the file.

Experts also recommend holding an in-person meeting with all the relevant specialized authorities at once, rather than scheduling separate interviews. Administrative departments don't always communicate with each other.

Whether neighbors must be consulted depends on the specific case and applicable building regulations in the German state (Land). If the project meets public law requirements, the permit generally cannot be refused due to neighbor opposition.

What remains uncertain

Available sources do not clarify the extent to which these tips apply uniformly across all of Germany. The 60-hour case is presented as an example rather than as a generalizable standard.