The single biggest pool of cheap money a cohousing group can reach — but it is delivered only by the 16 Länder, never applied for at the Bund.
- Who pays: since the Föderalismusreform 2006 the Länder are competent; the Bund paid Kompensationsmittel until 2019 (Art. 143c GG) and now grants Finanzhilfen under Art. 104d GG via annual Verwaltungsvereinbarungen. BMWSB: €3.5 bn 2025, €4 bn 2026, €5 bn 2027, €5.5 bn 2028 and 2029 (“23,5 Milliarden bis 2029”); Länder must co-finance and set their own programmes, which is why every state note in this wiki differs.
- What the federal frame allows (WoFG): § 2 — new build, modernisation, purchase of Belegungsrechte, purchase of existing stock, for rental housing under Bindungen and for self-used Wohneigentum; § 2 Abs. 2 — instruments are Darlehen zu Vorzugsbedingungen (auch nachrangig), Zuschüsse, Bürgschaften, verbilligtes Bauland. Bindungen (rent, occupancy) are the price → belegungsbindung.
- Who can be Bauherr (§ 11 WoFG): anyone building “für eigene oder fremde Rechnung im eigenen Namen” who owns or secures the land (Erbbaurecht suffices), proves reliability and brings Eigenleistung — hence eG, e.V., GmbH/gGmbH, Syndikat-GmbH, Stiftung and GbR can all be Bauherr; the household’s income is tested only at the tenant/member level (§ 9: €12,000 single / €18,000 two persons / +€4,100 per further person / +€500 per child as the federal floor; most Länder set their own, higher WoFG-§ 9-Abs. 3 limits).
- Genossenschaftswohnungen count as Mietwohnraum (§ 17), so co-op houses are financed through the rental channels; several Länder add lines for the members’ share purchase.
- Federal share-purchase / advisory money: only kfw-134. Open question (not a fact): no live federal formation or advisory subsidy for cooperatives was found today (BMWSB lists only KfW 134, research/model projects and the Länder channels) — treat the “Bund fördert Genossenschaftsgründung” claim as unverified.
Related
- belegungsbindung — the mechanics and duration of the bindings (legal WP)
- wohngemeinnuetzigkeit — tax status that stacks with these loans
- kfw-134, kfw-297-298, kfw-261 — federal KfW money layered on top
- saxony-frl-familienwohnen, nrw-wohnraumfoerderung-mietwohnraum, berlin-ibb-wohnungsneubaufonds, hamburg-ifb-baugemeinschaften-genossenschaftlich, bayern-wohnungsbauprogramm-mietwohnraum, baden-wuerttemberg-wohnungsbau-bw-mietwohnraum, hessen-mietwohnraumfoerderung, niedersachsen-wohnraumfoerderung, thueringen-wohnungsbaufoerderung-2026-2030 — the state delivery lines
- eg-cooperative, ev-association, gmbh-ggmbh-project, syndikat-haus-gmbh — forms that can be Bauherr
- staedtebaufoerderung — the parallel Bund–Länder channel for area renewal
Detail
How the Verwaltungsvereinbarung shapes what you see at the Förderbank. The Bund sets purposes (Mietwohnungsbau, Junges Wohnen for apprentices/students, Modernisierung, Wohneigentum, since 2024 explicitly “genossenschaftliches Wohnen” and Wohngemeinnützigkeit are named as beneficiaries on the BMWSB page) and a Kofinanzierungsquote; each Land writes Förderrichtlinien with its own income limits, rent caps, Bindungsdauer, loan/grant mix and applicant list. Read the state note first; the federal frame only tells you what cannot be excluded.
Why groups qualify. The WoFG never restricts the Bauherr to housing companies. Groups fail on the secondary tests: land control at application, Eigenkapital (often 15–25 %), a Prüfungsverband opinion (eG) or a bank’s Finanzierungsbestätigung, and acceptance of the Belegungsbindung, which for member-only co-ops means members must hold a Wohnberechtigungsschein.