Bureaucracy backlog: New rules for construction containers ensure chaos in Charlottenburg!

Bureaucracy backlog: New rules for construction containers ensure chaos in Charlottenburg!

Berlin, Deutschland - On June 12, 2025, the district councilor Oliver Schruoffenger said critically about the new regulations on the obligation to approved for a approval for small construction containers, which were previously approved as part of the construction site facility. The city council described these changes as bureaucratic and as a hurdle for the acceleration of construction work in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Schruoffengerer expects about 6,000 additional administrative procedures per year, which generates a massive workload with an average processing time of 20 minutes per application.

This means that the district administration needs an additional 1.5 employee positions to cope with the increase in applications. One problem is that so far no additional staff has been provided for the districts, which leads to a traffic jam in the applications. These delays affect the applications not only, but also on other important permits, which creates both frustration among employees and the companies concerned.

a desperate attempt to de -bureaucratization

In order to counter the delays, Schruoffenger has ordered not to edit the processes individually. However, this leads to potential income from permits. The district councilor appeals to the Senate to either provide the necessary personnel or to do without the new tasks in order not to further impair the efficiency of the construction projects.

The latest regulations primarily concern container buildings that are classified as "structural systems" in Germany. According to the Fagsi, a building permit is required for setting up office or residential containers, whereby the type of document for approval is irrelevant. However, containers can also be classified as makeshift buildings under certain circumstances, especially if they are used for temporary purposes on construction sites.

regulations for construction containers in NRW

In North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, construction site containers that are used temporarily are procedural without procedures in accordance with Section 62 of the State Building Regulations. This means that no building permit or building advertisement is necessary as long as the container is used in connection with a construction project. Nevertheless, a special use permit is required in a list in public space, which the regulations designed differently depending on the state. Residential ownership reports on the costs for the employment permit that can occur in external constellations (https://www.wohnigentum. These vary between 0.14 and 0.22 euros per day and square meters depending on the location.

It remains to be seen how the new regulations will affect construction practice in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. The challenges of the bureaucracy could further tighten the already tense situation on the Berlin housing market.