Refurbishment of the Fulda Office Center: Expensive consequences for taxpayers!

Refurbishment of the Fulda Office Center: Expensive consequences for taxpayers!

The agency center in Fulda is the focus of a financial scandal that endangers the financial situation of the State of Hesse. The construction, which was sold to a private investor in 2005, urgently requires costly renovations. According to a current decision by the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court, the state of Hesse has poor prospects of getting the renovation costs of EUR 10.8 million from the landlord. This happens because the court found that it could not be sufficiently proven that the plaster of walls and ceilings is part of the rental obligations and therefore entitled to cover the costs, reports Tagesschau.de .

Since mid -2023, the part of the authorities center has been renovated and newly plastered. However, the sales contract from 2005 does not contain any clear regulations for the assumption of costs for the interior plaster, which also complicated the situation. The country now has six weeks to put up new arguments or to withdraw the lawsuit against the landlord. These circumstances lead to financial pressure, which is tightened by the cost of twice the rent that the country pays for the outdated building.

criticism of privatization policy

The Financial spokesman for the group DIE LINKE. In the Hessian state parliament, Jan Schalauske, is critical of the consequences of privatization policy, which was operated under the former Prime Minister Roland Koch (CDU). At that time, this measure was sold as a way to generate additional income, but has proven to be expensive in the long term. Schalstauske criticizes that taxpayers ultimately have to pay for the mistakes of the privatization rage. He even calls for Roland Koch's Wilhelm Leuschner medal due to the damage caused. According to left-fraction-hessen.de benefit while the country now appears as a tenant.

In addition to the direct renovation costs, rent payments in the millions burden the country's coffers. This dual rental obligation, which was taken over in many cases, while the relevant properties are in a dilapidated condition, leads to an enormous financial burden. Finance Minister Thomas Schäfer (CDU) defends real estate transactions, while the opposition points out that short -term income will become more expensive in the long term.

future of the agency center

The final use of the renovated 10,000 square meters of the agency center remains unclear. However, it is planned to renovate the entire building by 2028. Finance Minister Alexander Lorz points out that the area requirement was reduced by mobile work and home office, which brings further uncertainties regarding future use.

The problems with the Fulda authorities center are part of a larger trend in Germany, in which public buildings are increasingly under renovation pressure. The German Energy Agency (dena) recently estimated the investment costs for the energetic renovation of all public buildings in Germany by 2045 at around 120 billion euros. This sum, which requires 6 billion euros annually, illustrates the challenges that countries and municipalities look forward to. The study was created on behalf of DENA and emphasized that existing financing instruments must be further developed in order to accelerate the implementation of renovation projects. You can read more about this in an article on Ingenieur.de