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Press Release from 2017-01-03 / Group, Domestic Promotion

German Federal Building Ministry and KfW: increased promotion of burglary protection and accessibility at homes in 2017

  • 2016: strong demand for grants to protect against break-ins and improve accessibility
  • 2017: grants for burglary protection and improving accessibility increased to EUR 50 million and EUR 75 million respectively
  • Applying for promotional funds online is easy using the new KfW grant portal

Home owners and tenants are now once again able to apply for grants allocated by KfW for burglary prevention measures and accessibility improvements. In addition, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) is increasing the grants available for break-in protection from EUR 10 million to EUR 50 million and those available for improving accessibility from EUR 49 million to EUR 75 million for 2017.

Gunther Adler, State Secretary at the Federal Building Ministry, said, “Almost half of burglars give up after a few minutes if they are prevented from breaking in by technical security measures. This means that it pays to invest in break-in protection. We have increased the promotional funding available in response to the great interest among tenants and home owners in greater protection against break-ins. The continuation of the very popular “Age-appropriate Conversion” promotional programme has also been a big success. The age-appropriate housing on offer must be expanded as a matter of urgency in order to allow the elderly to live independently for as long as possible in a setting that is familiar to them.”

Dr Ingrid Hengster, member of KfW Group's Executive Board, said, “The grants offered by KfW to promote burglary protection and accessibility in 2016 were so successful that the promotional funds were already completely used up by the end of the third quarter. We are happy that our customers are now once again able to apply for grants and invest in a more comfortable standard of living and level of security in their flats and houses. Applying for grants is quick and easy using our online grant portal.”

More than 40,000 promotional grants were issued for burglary prevention measures in 2016. These were used to secure more than 50,000 housing units against break-ins by means of various measures. Since 1 April 2016, it has also been possible to apply for promotional loans for investing in protection against break-ins. For promotion via grants, the minimum investment volume for individual break-in protection measures is EUR 2,000, and constructors have thus far invested an average of EUR 5,000 per home. The measures most commonly carried out were the installation of anti-burglary doors as well as retrofit systems for windows.

In 2016, the demand for promotional grants for accessibility measures rose by a third in comparison to 2015. KfW issued around 25,000 commitments, and demand was so high that the budget funds in excess of EUR 49 million were already used up by the end of July 2016. Furthermore, more than 5,000 promotional loans were issued for measures including the removal of barriers or conversion of baths.

Not only has KfW improved the promotion available for constructors in its products in recent years, but it has also further optimised the application process. Since November 2016, all promotional grants are applied for conveniently and digitally using the new KfW grant portal. Private constructors and tenants can now submit their applications for funding to KfW online, and they receive a commitment within the space of a few moments.

Information regarding promotion opportunities can be found on the website www.kfw.de/zuschussportal or obtained from KfW's Information Centre by calling +49 (0)800 539 9002.

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Portrait von Sybille Bauerfeind