Fusion of the associations: Haus & Grund becomes a strong voice in NRW!

Fusion of the associations: Haus & Grund becomes a strong voice in NRW!

The owner association Haus & Grund plans to significantly strengthen its position in North Rhine-Westphalia. On April 28, 2025, a Letter of Intent was signed for the merger of the two regional associations Haus & Grund Rheinland Westfalen and Haus & Grund Ruhr. This merger will create the new association under the name "Haus & Grund Rheinland Ruhr". With more than 150,000 members and 69 local associations, the new association becomes the largest state association in NRW and is represented by more than two thirds of the house & land members in the federal state. This reports House and Grund Wesseling .

The seat of the new association will be in Düsseldorf and the first president will come from the Ruhr area. The presidium of the new association is staffed and is based on the population of the five government districts in North Rhine-Westphalia. House and Grund NRW emphasizes that the merger should help to reduce double structures and to enable better service as well as more political interest groups. Dr. Kai Warnecke, the President of the Central Association Haus & Grund Germany, describes the merger as a powerful step forward for the organization.

increase in the added value for the local associations

A central point of the merger is the increase in the added value for the local associations, especially in the field of media and marketing. As a result, the strict requirements and challenges that the local associations face should be better managed. The ceremonial signing took place in the Duisburg inner port, a symbolic place near the mouth of the Ruhr into the Rhine. On this occasion, numerous representatives of the local associations and friendly associations were present.

These merger plans take place in a context that is also shaped by financial issues. In North Rhine-Westphalia, numerous citizens in municipalities have already applied for repayments with excessive wastewater fees. However, these repayments are only made for those who have objected to what is unjustly criticized by Klaus Stallmann, the President of Haus & Grund NRW. All citizens in affected municipalities have been excessively burdened. House and Grund NRW supports the claim of the Federation of taxpayers NRW to reimburse all citizens the too much fees of the past four years.

The problem was reinforced by a judgment of the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine -Westphalia on May 17, 2022. The court decided that wastewater fees may serve to ensure municipal wastewater disposal and not to fill up the budget. A sample procedure concerned a fee payer from Oer-Erkenschwick, the wastewater fee of which was too high for 2017 for around 600 euros (18 percent).

Next steps for the fusion

After signing the Letter of Intent, it remains to be seen how quickly the merger can be finally carried out. The decision to look at several municipal structures in North Rhine -Westphalia and possibly give the wastewater fees a fair basis could also support the newly founded association in its efforts.

Overall, the coming months are in the sign of structural changes within Haus & Grund NRW. The merger could not only strengthen political interest groups, but also play an important role in the clarification and reform of financial burdens for citizens in North Rhine-Westphalia.