Temporary living projects under the German town planning Law

Abstract

Temporary living plays an increasing role in today's society. Various temporary living concepts for many different groups of users can be observed on the market, but so far no exact definition exists in German law thus no special legal regulations on temporary living can be found in the planning and building law. Here the question arises which type of use is most suitable for temporary living. Depending on each individual case, temporary living projects including serviced apartments can either be defined as the following property types: residential, hotel or holiday flats. Crucial for the distinction between these three types is the operating concept in place, not the designation chosen by the respective operator. The use type residential is defined as a long-term habitat. Self-furnishing and the free choice of habitation are defining characteristics of residential properties.The use type hotel includes facilities which offer temporary accommodation to constantly changing guests in return for payment. Guests are not able to organise their habitation independently. They are required to use external services, such as catering, restaurants and cleaning.Holiday flats are rooms or properties which are temporarily made available to a constantly changing circle of guests for a fee. This kind of accommodation is suitable and intended to establish an own habitat for a short limited period of time.A major criterion for successful temporary living projects is the right choice of the location. The eleven zoning categories in the German Federal building code need to be checked carefully whether they are suitable as locations for temporary living projects. The German zoning categories special residential areas, mixed-use areas and urban areas are particularly suitable for temporary living, because there are no legal restrictions regarding the use types as defined above. In other German zoning categories like residential or commercial only residential or respectively hotel uses are allowed. Further considerations arise when the operator intends to change the temporary living concept in place, for example by changing his use concept from residential to hotel. In this case, the operator needs to verify, if in the German zoning category hotels are allowed.