Submit a preliminary building application

Before submitting a building application, you can submit a preliminary building inquiry to the building authority to request a binding decision on individual issues to be examined in the building permit procedure and whether the intended project complies with public law regulations.

The subject of a preliminary building inquiry can be all matters that are examined in the building permit procedure. A preliminary building inquiry is generally useful if individual questions about the building project are unclear or if it is to be clarified whether a property can be built on at all in accordance with the applicable building planning law. A preliminary building inquiry can save financial expenditure, as not all the documents required for a building permit are necessary and the scope of the examination is limited to the specific questions. In addition, the building owner receives certainty about the buildability of a property at an early stage.

The preliminary decision is valid for 3 years and binds the building authorities for this period, provided that the content of the preliminary decision does not fundamentally deviate from the statements made. An extension of the preliminary decision is possible on application.

The lower building supervisory authority of the administrative districts, the independent cities and the special status cities is responsible.

Contact the lower building supervisory authority of your district / independent city / special status city.

A preliminary building application must be accompanied by the building documents required to answer the respective questions, either digitally in the building portal or in analog form. The details of the building documents submitted are regulated by the Building Documents Decree.

Both the form and the building documents decree can be found on the homepage of the Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Housing.

As a rule, a property plan or extract from the cadastral map and a description of the project should be attached.

The exact documents depend on the specific preliminary building application.

An appeal may be lodged against the authority's decision within one month of notification.

You fill out the application digitally in the building portal or in analog form and submit it together with the required documents to the responsible building authority.
The building authority will check your application and the documents.
If all documents have been submitted and there are no legal obstacles, the building authority will issue you with a preliminary building permit.

If the building project is subject to Section 65 HBO, the deadlines of the simplified approval procedure for the preliminary building permit also apply:
3 months with the option of an extension of up to 2 months
The preliminary building permit is deemed to have been granted if no decision has been made within this period.

The amount of the fee depends on the scope of the preliminary building application and can be up to 40 percent of the building inspection fee, with a minimum of €100. The fee is to be calculated according to the extent to which the building permit is anticipated by the preliminary decision. Half of the fee is offset against the final building inspection fee if and to the extent that the preliminary building decision has a binding effect in the building permit procedure.