Pay development charge

The municipalities are obliged to levy development charges for the initial construction of development facilities from the owners of the properties that are developed by the development facility. This applies in particular to roads intended for construction.

In order to be able to use an area as a building site, it must first be "developed". This includes the connection to water and energy supply networks, communication lines and the construction of roads and/or paths. The costs for this are largely borne by the residents.

Development contributions are the costs for the initial construction of a road through which building plots are developed. As a rule, 90 percent of the costs for this initial construction are passed on to the residents, while the municipality bears 10 percent of the costs.

If a road already exists as a result of previous development and is rebuilt or extended, costs may be incurred in accordance with the Municipal Charges Act (KAG) in conjunction with the municipal statutes. In Hesse, the municipalities are responsible for deciding whether to finance the costs of such a road renovation on a pro rata basis through contributions from the adjacent property owners or through municipal budget funds. If the municipality demands road contributions, it can stipulate either one-off contributions or recurring contributions in its statutes. In the case of one-off contributions, depending on the classification of the roads, the adjacent property owners share in the costs, whereby the proportion of costs to be borne by the municipality is higher for through roads than for residential roads. In the case of recurring contributions, the apportionable costs are spread over a larger billing area, for example a district.

Costs are charged for the water supply and wastewater disposal of the building plot in accordance with the Municipal Charges Act (KAG) in conjunction with the municipal statutes. The municipal bylaws generally provide for a fixed rate per m² of land area.

Telephone, data lines, gas and electricity are usually supplied by private companies.

If you want to build yourself, you should include a sufficiently high amount for these services in your financial planning.

If you are building with a developer or purchasing a newly built house, clarify whether and which development costs are already covered by the purchase price and which are not.

The municipality responsible for the development levies the development charge.

Further information can be obtained from the municipality responsible for your building site.

The development charge is calculated by the responsible local authority and determined by notice without - as a rule - requiring the cooperation of the property owner liable to pay the charge.

The prerequisite for the collection of a development charge is the enactment of a municipal development charge statute.

Appeal or action before the administrative court

The contribution must be paid within one month of notification of the decision.

The development charge is levied after completion of the development work within a four-year assessment period.

Fee free of charge

none