{"id":4648,"date":"2024-01-01T12:23:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-01T11:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dombert.de\/?p=4648"},"modified":"2025-03-23T11:50:44","modified_gmt":"2025-03-23T10:50:44","slug":"energy-transition-and-monument-protection-not-a-contradiction-in-terms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dombert.de\/en\/energiewende-und-denkmalschutz-kein-widerspruch\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy transition and monument protection - (no) contradiction"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Energy transition and monument protection - (no) contradiction<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Tobias Ro\u00df<\/span><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Blog post<\/span><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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01.01.2024<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The \u201eenergy turnaround\u201c and the recently passed Building Energy Act (GEG) are raising awareness of the energy efficiency of buildings. Owners of listed buildings in particular regularly face problems and conflicts with the authorities during energy-efficient refurbishments when fa\u00e7ades need to be insulated, plaster renewed or interior work carried out. This usually involves questions such as: Does the plaster fa\u00e7ade have to be retained? Can the PV system be installed on the roof of the listed building - and if so, where and in what colour?<\/p>

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The requirements set by the monument protection authorities in this regard for energy refurbishments and other climate protection measures vary depending on the federal state, and often even depending on the district and individual authority. The resulting conflicts between energy-efficient refurbishment and monument protection can regularly be resolved professionally and legally without having to involve the courts. However, the legal framework conditions must be recognised, observed and coordinated with the authorities at an early stage.<\/p>

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Legal framework
<\/strong>The aim of monument protection law is to preserve the originality, substance and appearance of historic buildings as unchanged as possible and thus preserve their significance as the most unadulterated testimony to history. Monument law is state law - this means that there are a total of 16 different monument protection laws - each state (and each city state) has its own. The decisive factor is therefore where the monument is located. However, the monument protection laws all agree on one thing: in all federal states, the owner is obliged to maintain and care for their protected property. This is legally linked to the obligation to obtain a permit or authorisation under monument protection law (e.g. in Section 9 of the NRW Monument Protection Act) for measures on the monument (e.g. for alterations, the removal of monument components and its renovation). Energy-related building refurbishments therefore regularly require authorisation as they involve structural changes to the building. All measures that change the appearance and substance of the monument must be agreed with the monument protection authority. This means, for example, that authorisation must be obtained in advance for new windows or a new coat of paint on the fa\u00e7ade.<\/p>

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However, there are also often cases in which the requirements of the monument protection authorities clearly overshoot the mark and are not justified by the Monument Protection Act. This is because monument law does not always protect against all changes to monuments, but only against those that actually interfere with the monument's value in accordance with the justification for protection. In other words: If, for example, a listed building is protected because of its elaborate and artistically valuable fa\u00e7ade design, measures in the interior of the listed building can regularly be unproblematic; of course, this is always a question of the individual case and the specific justification for protection.<\/p>

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The legislator has also recognised the conflict between monument protection and the considerable obligations of the GEG. Although the GEG initially also applies to monuments, the requirements of the GEG for monuments differ from those that apply to non-monuments. If the requirements of the GEG have an undesirable impact on the substance or appearance of the monument, exemptions apply (\u00a7 105 GEG). Disproportionately high construction costs can also lead to a complete or partial exemption from the requirements of the GEG. Economic justifiability means that the necessary expenditure can generally be realised within the normal useful life through the resulting savings. Of course, this requires legal and economic substantiation in individual cases; this is also regularly required by the authorities.<\/p>

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In principle, monument law should not stand in the way of the climate-friendly refurbishment of buildings. However, the fact that in practice it is often necessary to fight for this with legal and professional support should not deter monument owners from taking the necessary steps.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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My recommendation<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In monument law, no two cases are the same\u00a0other<\/span>. Every monument is different - different specifications often apply; caution is therefore also required when applying examples from other federal states. It is therefore advisable to adopt a systematic approach, taking into account technical and specialised,<\/span>\u00a0but also legal expertise.<\/p>

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