Frequently asked questions

Inventus from Landsberg am Lech develops residential property. We examine what may be built on a plot, obtain certainty from the planning office with a preliminary building enquiry and take the project through to the sale of the homes. Since 1987 Peter Kerler has handled more than 1,400 apartments in sales and advice.

Each plot gets a project room: a protected area where the owner and later the case officer at the planning office see the documents, with a 3D model and shadow study.

Whether bought, inherited or owned for a long time: what may be built is set by the development plan. Where there is none, the surrounding buildings count. We measure the plan on the official cadastral map, rebuild the neighbouring houses in the 3D model and calculate homes, living space, site coverage, floor area ratio, setbacks and parking.

The site plan or the parcel number is enough. The building rights check is free of charge for the owner.

Non-binding assessment, not legal advice. The planning office makes the binding decision.

The building rights check is free of charge for the owner. It shows two options: permitted is the best that works without any approval. Optimum is the best with exceptions and exemptions, each listed with its section and reasoning.

A table compares both: homes, living space, site coverage, floor area ratio, parking and land value. You see what each single exemption adds.

Non-binding assessment, not legal advice. The planning office makes the binding decision.

A buyer works backwards: what do the homes he may build bring in, minus construction costs, incidental costs, financing and profit? What remains is what he can pay for the plot. Experts call this the residual value.

The more living space is secured, the higher this value. That is why the building rights check puts the land value of both options side by side.

Non-binding assessment, not legal advice. The planning office makes the binding decision.

Commercial use can become housing where building law allows it. Since 2025 the so-called construction turbo under section 246e of the Building Code makes conversion to housing easier, with the municipality's consent, limited until the end of 2030.

One example is our former depot in Landsberg am Lech East: the city envisages a modern residential quarter there. Experience shows such a development takes several years, and until then we let the spaces.

Non-binding assessment, not legal advice. The planning office makes the binding decision.

As developer and builder, Inventus developed and built 60 micro-living apartments at Kaufering station, sold in 2019. Lechhöhe is taking shape on the former Uniper site in Landsberg am Lech, and we keep a waiting list for it.

In sales and advice Peter Kerler has handled more than 1,400 apartments, among them student apartments in Bremen, Lübeck and Hanover. The overview is under Investment.

With a preliminary building enquiry, the application for a preliminary decision under Art. 71 of the Bavarian Building Code, the planning office answers individual questions bindingly before anyone files a building application. The preliminary decision is valid for four years and can be extended by up to four years on request.

Before a sale it turns an assumption into a commitment: the buyer knows what he may build and pays for it. We prepare all documents: application, questions, cadastral extract, site plan, sketches, calculations and the list of neighbours.

Non-binding assessment, not legal advice. The planning office makes the binding decision.

• Development plan: the municipality sets where and how high building is allowed and how much of the plot may be built on.
• Section 34: where a built-up area has no plan, a new building has to fit into its surroundings in use, size and position.
• Exemption: under section 31 the planning office can deviate from a development plan as long as the basic features of the plan are kept.
• Outskirts, section 35: outside built-up areas building is allowed only by way of exception.

Non-binding assessment, not legal advice. The planning office makes the binding decision.

Under section 9 (2d) of the Building Code a municipality can adopt a plan for built-up areas that governs housing only: where residential buildings may be built and where homes must meet the requirements of social housing funding.

The law is time-limited: the plan must be adopted by the end of 2026. For municipalities it is a fast route to affordable housing.

Non-binding assessment, not legal advice. The planning office makes the binding decision.

• Sell with building rights: with a preliminary decision you sell a plot whose potential is settled. We value it, connect you with investors and support the sale.
• Develop together: you contribute the plot, we contribute the development, and both carry the project.
• Build yourself: you remain the developer, we support building rights, planning and the sale of the homes.
• For companies with their own buildings there is sale and lease back: sell, receive the value in cash and stay in your premises.

1. You send us the site plan or parcel number and any plans you have.
2. We carry out the building rights check, free of charge for you.
3. We discuss the options with you, then with the planning office in a preliminary meeting.
4. We prepare the preliminary building enquiry. You and later the planning office see all documents in your project room.
5. After the preliminary decision you choose which route to take.

Trust begins with a personal conversation. We set out mandates precisely in writing.

A new build can be depreciated much faster than an older building: 5 % declining-balance depreciation, plus, where the statutory conditions are met, 5 % special depreciation under section 7b of the Income Tax Act in the first four years. Investors can also deduct the loan interest. KfW funding for standard 40 with QNG certification adds a low-interest loan.

Where depreciation pushes rental income into a loss, the tax office offsets it against your other income, such as your salary.

Example, not tax advice. The rates given reflect the legal situation and are no promise about your result. Ask your tax adviser.

A new build is depreciated at 5 % a year on a declining balance. Under section 7 (5a) of the Income Tax Act the 5 % is calculated each year on the remaining value, so the amounts get smaller from year to year. Later you may switch to straight-line depreciation.

Conditions: construction started between 1 October 2023 and 30 September 2029, and you buy the apartment by the end of the year in which it is completed. Only the building is depreciated, not the share for the land.

Example, not tax advice. The rates given reflect the legal situation and are no promise about your result. Ask your tax adviser.

Where the statutory conditions are met, 5 % special depreciation under section 7b of the Income Tax Act is added in the first four years. The conditions under the law:

• The building application was filed between 1 January 2023 and 30 September 2029.
• The building meets the criteria of an efficiency house 40 with sustainability class, proven by the quality seal for sustainable buildings (QNG).
• Construction costs are at most €5,200 per m² of living space. At most €4,000 per m² is depreciated.
• You buy the apartment by the end of the year in which it is completed and let it as a home in that year and the nine years after, not as a holiday flat.

Amberg aVIEW is being built to KfW 40 with QNG certification.

Example, not tax advice. The rates given reflect the legal situation and are no promise about your result. Ask your tax adviser.

Around 40 per cent is written off after four years for a new build with declining-balance depreciation and section 7b. An older building at 2 to 2.5 % a year needs 16 to 20 years for that.

The full comparison is on the Amberg aVIEW page.

Example, not tax advice. The rates given reflect the legal situation and are no promise about your result. Ask your tax adviser.

An example with round figures: purchase price €250,000 for an apartment of 55 m², 85 % of it for the building, so €212,500. That is €3,864 per m², below the limits of section 7b.

Excluding solidarity surcharge and church tax, interest and rental income. In the year of purchase the declining-balance depreciation counts only for the months from the purchase.

Example, not tax advice. The rates given reflect the legal situation and are no promise about your result. Ask your tax adviser.

Investors can also deduct the loan interest. Further deductible are the property management costs, property tax and service charges you do not pass on to the tenant, repairs and the costs of financing, such as notary and land registry for the land charge.

Payments into the maintenance reserve count only once the owners' association spends the money on a repair. Notary, land registry and transfer tax for the purchase itself are depreciated together with the building.

Example, not tax advice. The rates given reflect the legal situation and are no promise about your result. Ask your tax adviser.

If you sell a let apartment within ten years of buying it, the gain is taxed under section 23 of the Income Tax Act. The depreciation taken reduces the purchase cost, so the gain gets larger. After ten years the gain is tax-free.

For special depreciation under section 7b the apartment must be let as a home in the year of purchase and the nine years after. Otherwise the tax office reverses it retroactively. Talk to your tax adviser before an earlier sale.

Example, not tax advice. The rates given reflect the legal situation and are no promise about your result. Ask your tax adviser.

The purchase price does not include the incidental purchase costs: notary, land registry, property transfer tax, financing costs and the energy consultant. In Bavaria the property transfer tax is 3.5 % of the purchase price. Ongoing costs are property management and the maintenance reserve.

At Amberg aVIEW the kitchen is included in the purchase price.

Inventus from Landsberg am Lech develops residential property, brokers it as a tax-advantaged investment and rents out apartments and commercial space. Managing director Peter Kerler has been self-employed in real estate sales and development since 1987. He has handled more than 1,400 apartments in sales and advice and let around 45,000 m² of commercial space. In 2002 he founded DEAL Magazin. Heide Kerler manages the company with him.

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Inventus.blue GmbH & Co. KG, Von-Helfenstein-Gasse 429, 86899 Landsberg am Lech, Germany. Phone +49 8191 9895213, email office@inventus.blue. Zoom is welcome too, we will send you the link. Visits by appointment.

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