The BAUKINDERGELD programme

type: Article , Topic: Building & Housing

With its BAUKINDERGELD programme, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community is helping families with children buy their first home.

Owner-occupied housing is an important cornerstone of the housing market. It is also a good way to build capital and provide for old age. Owner-occupied housing helps increase the stability of neighbourhoods. Especially in less prosperous regions, investment in housing has a positive effect on the social fabric of both large and small communities.

Home ownership is especially important for families with children. For this reason, the Coalition Agreement among Germany’s governing parties states that the Federal Government will introduce a programme to support home ownership by families with children. The Federal Governmentʼs BAUKINDERGELD programme specifically helps families with children and single parents to buy their first home. The Baukindergeld grant reduces their financial burden, enabling many families to take the step of becoming home-owners for the first time.

BAUKINDERGELD is a programme of the KfW Banking Group. Details of this programme, like all other KfW programmes, are given in a fact sheet.

Starting 18 September 2018, it has been possible to apply to the KfW for a BAUKINDERGELD grant at: www.kfw.de/info-zuschussportal. All applications must be submitted online.

FAQs to the BAUKINDERGELD programme

Terms and conditions:

  • Families with at least one child under age 18 living in the same household are eligible for a grant of €1,200 per child per year for 10 years in order to buy their first home.
  • Persons who already own a home that they live in or rent out are not eligible.
  • Families with one child may have a taxable household income of up to €90,000 per year; this limit increases by €15,000 for each additional child. For example, for a family with two children, the income limit would be €105,000.
  • The grant may be combined with other KfW assistance programmes, such as those for energy-efficient construction and renovation.
  • The grant may be applied to new construction if the building permit was issued between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2020. Only those housing construction projects are eligible that require notification of intention to build, if the responsible local authority has been notified and the project is permitted to start between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2020.
  • Whether the purchase is a newly built or existing home, the notarized sales contract must have been signed between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2020.
  • It is possible to apply for a grant after moving into the home.
  • Grant applications must be submitted within six months of moving into the home (originally three months; this was revised on 17 May 2019), according to the date given on the official registration of residence.
  • If you purchase the home you already occupy, for example by buying the flat you live in, the application must be submitted within six months of signing the notarized sales contract.
  • No grants will be awarded for homes sold or transferred between direct relatives (for example children, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents). This would not achieve the aims of producing additional housing or changing the current housing situation, for example by moving to a different home. This rule is intended to prevent grants from being misdirected to those who would have acquired their homes from relatives in any case and to avoid misuse. Ruling out the possibility of grants for homes sold between direct relatives was added mainly to clarify the KfW’s existing policy in the fact sheet (version of 17 May 2019).

Depending on regional or local needs, some federal states or local authorities may top up the federal BAUKINDERGELD grant.