SP2 Legal Framework for CC

The current legal framework for construction is mainly oriented towards linear material flows. Common contractual solutions as well as different fields of public law such as building law are focused on the construction stage. They mostly leave out the use stage and the end of a building’s life, or equate this end to the end of the building product’s and material’s lifespans. Therefore, the transition to a net-zero and resource-efficient built environment requires various actions on different levels of law.

On one hand, legal uncertainties need to be reduced. These uncertainties exist in the areas of private and of public law. They affect privates as well as authorities in their different roles. Building owners, planners and contractors are concerned with uncertainties regarding the services to be agreed, the determination of fees, the contractual liabilities, and the insurance of the corresponding risks. Moreover, contractual solutions for innovative delivery models are missing. Further uncertainties exist on the level of legal requirements for official approvals and for duties arising from product law. To reduce these uncertainties, the SP will provide templates, contractual solutions and arguments within the limits of applicable law.

On the other hand, the transition requires innovative policy measures, especially in public law sectors such as the spatial planning and the building law, the construction products regulations and the waste management and energy law. The extension of the lifespan of buildings as well as different end-of-life strategies and the corresponding instruments such as DPPs or matchmaking services require an adequate legal basis. In this regard, the SP will provide recommendations to policymakers and empower them to make scientifically informed decisions that are based on a common frame of reference.