The rarest kind of money in the German landscape: public funding for the phase before a housing project exists, when a group needs paid expertise and has no asset to borrow against. Funder: Innenministerium SH out of the Landeswohnraumförderung; administered by IB.SH.
- Who can apply: Initiatorengruppen as a BGB-Gesellschaft or a Vorgenossenschaft, as a rule with at least 10 members. A pre-registration group qualifies — you do not need the eG yet.
- What is funded: expert reports, Voruntersuchungen, concepts for the organisational structure, and expertise on business and legal questions.
- Amount: non-repayable grant of up to 90 % of eligible cost, max €15,000. Bagatellgrenze €7,000 gross; the group must demonstrably fund the remaining ≥10 % itself in cash. Granted as De-minimis aid under Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013.
- Project gate: the intended project must have at least 10 dwellings, with at least 30 % of the floor area built with soziale Wohnraumförderung money, and be selbstverwaltet.
- Site gate: at the time of application the group must already have a concrete, suitable plot or building — a prospective transfer or an agreed Anhandgabe is enough.
- Apply to IB.SH before starting, with the form signed by all participants; retroactive funding for completed service contracts is excluded, though a vorzeitiger Maßnahmenbeginn can be requested. Paid in at most two instalments, to be spent within 2 months; Verwendungsnachweis within 2 years.
- Not funded: land purchase, construction, architects’ work from HOAI phase 2 onward, the Genossenschaftsverband’s registration costs, marketing and member recruitment, and running costs.
Related
- schleswig-holstein-wohnraumfoerderung — the WoFöRL frame this pot sits in
- schleswig-holstein-zuschuss-genossenschaftsanteile — the next stage, once members join
- schleswig-holstein-ibsh-mietwohnungsbau — the construction money the 30 % rule points at
- gbr-baugemeinschaft — one of the two accepted applicant forms
- eg-cooperative — a Vorgenossenschaft qualifies before registration
- genossenschaft-pruefungsverband — whose registration costs are expressly excluded
- rheinland-pfalz-anschubfoerderung-wohnprojekte — the closest comparator in another state
- de-support-network — the advisers this grant pays for (WP7)
Detail
- Budget and window: the Innenministerium put €600,000 in total into the starter phase through the end of 2026. At €15,000 a group that is roughly 40 grants for the whole state. Treat availability, not eligibility, as the binding constraint, and ask IB.SH about the remaining contingent before planning around it.
- The exclusion of HOAI phase 2 and above is the key boundary: this pays for deciding whether and how to organise, not for designing the building.
- The requirement to already hold a site is the practical hurdle for most groups, and the reason the state separately urges municipalities to grant Anhandgaben.
- Open question (not a fact): whether the fund is continued beyond 2026 was not stated as of 2026-09-10.