The introduction of the digital building permit is progressing. By the end of this year, around 500 of the 851 authorities responsible for lower building supervision nationwide would use the new system for digital applications, said Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) on Monday in Berlin.
This allows builders and their architects to upload documents digitally to the office. All authorities involved can access the file electronically and work through the approval steps. Printed building applications on paper are to be gradually replaced. At the end there is an approval with an electronic seal.
This should save time and money. You assume that in one to two years a clear acceleration effect will become visible, said Geywitz. In view of the shortage of skilled workers, the aim is to process more applications with the same number of employees.
The state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania developed the new system based on the “one for all” principle and then offered it to other federal states. According to Geywitz, the federal government supported the project with 16.7 million euros. In the meantime, ten federal states have joined, said Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s interior minister Christian level (SPD). All childhood illnesses have been overcome. For the time being, the system is being piloted in 149 authorities. Now it’s about rolling out the system and adding more functions.
The countries that do not follow the solution from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have developed their own systems at the same time, saidleve. These include Bremen, Brandenburg, Berlin, Thuringia, Hesse and Bavaria.
According to the level, eleven enforcement authorities have been set up in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for the uniform procedure. In the districts of Northwest Mecklenburg and Mecklenburg Lake District, the digital building application is already online and accessible to applicants. However, three of the twelve lower building control authorities in the country decided to use a different system. The primary goal of the digital building application is to simplify and speed up the process, not to save on staff, emphasized level.
The FDP member of the Bundestag, Hagen Reinhold from Barth, once again complained about the sluggish pace of the digitization of administrative processes. “The digital building application as part of the online access law is progress, there’s no question about that. But if we don’t put pressure on implementation, it will just be another lighthouse project,” he warned. Reinhold spoke out in favor of a reform of the Online Access Act, which should introduce a legal right for citizens to the provision of digital services. In addition, financial aid for municipalities should be linked to the implementation of digitization. “From the point of view of the FDP, promoting and demanding should also apply to the offices,” said Reinhold.
