The simplified approval procedure must be carried out for the construction, modification and change of use of structural facilities as long as they are not exempt from approval or subject to the approval exemption procedure. Furthermore, the simplified building permit procedure does not apply to special buildings.

The simplified building permit procedure examines

• if you want to erect the building project outside the scope of a development plan,
• if deviations, exceptions or exemptions are required,
• if the municipality declares that a building permit procedure is necessary,
• at the request of the building owner instead of exemption from approval.

The legal basis for the simplified building permit procedure is Section 65 HBO.

You can declare that your building project, which would actually be assigned to the simplified procedure in accordance with Section 65 HBO, is to be examined in the full procedure in accordance with Section 66 HBO.
This declaration is made by making a corresponding entry on the reverse side of the building application form BAB 01 from the Building Submission Decree 2022 (Annex 1, No. 1).

The building inspectorate primarily checks the admissibility of the project under planning law as well as the buildability and development of the property
The following is/are checked

• the permissibility according to the development plan (this determines, for example, how a property can be built on. It specifies the type and extent of building use, the permitted number of storeys and the permitted building design), including exceptions and exemptions, as well as other provisions of the Building Code such as Sections 34 or 35.
• Deviations applied for in accordance with § 73 HBO.
• Permissibility under other public law regulations if the building permit replaces or makes a decision under these regulations unnecessary. This includes, for example, monument protection or nature conservation permits. This is explicitly regulated in the relevant specialist legislation, for example in the Monument Protection Act (HDschG § 9 Para. 3).

Public law regulations, compliance with which is checked in a different or separate approval, permit or other authorization procedure and which do not originate from building and planning law, are not included in the scope of the simplified procedure according to the HBO. (for example, compliance with the tree protection statutes)

In the simplified building permit procedure, compliance with ancillary building law is also checked, such as monument protection, nature and species protection, water and soil protection or immission control. Accordingly, a building permit can also include the necessary approval of ancillary building law (e.g. approval under monument protection law). If the building project contravenes the relevant specialist law, the building permit will be refused.

Ancillary building law includes
Monument protection

• Soil protection for externally introduced material from 600 cubic meters (terrain modeling)
• Immission control for harmful environmental effects
• Aircraft noise protection for military protection zones at Erbenheim airport
• Road law for the construction and modification of structures within the construction ban zones of federal highways
• Veterinary matters for animal husbandry
• Mining in the case of structures in construction restriction areas
• Nature conservation for interventions in nature and landscape
• Railroad law for the construction of buildings near railroad lines
• Air traffic for the erection of structures in construction protection areas of airports
• Water law for the construction and extension of buildings in flood plains and riparian areas

The limited scope of the inspection also means that the scope of the building permit is limited or that it has a declaratory effect. Accordingly, it does not contain any statement on other public law regulations relevant to the project, such as the substantive building law of the HBO. It is the responsibility of the building owner or designer to ensure that the regulations that have not been checked are also complied with. In the outdoor area, for example, this is nature conservation - the environmental agency or the office for rural areas is responsible here. In some cases, the regional council (RPDA) must also be consulted in the event of pollution.

The building inspectorate can reject a project if it recognizes that a project cannot be legally constructed because public law regulations are being violated, even if these are not included in the scope of the simplified approval procedure.

In order to submit an application for a simplified building permit procedure, the author of the design must be authorized to submit building documents.

Limited (minor) authorization to submitbuilding documents
Graduates with a state-recognized Bachelor's degree (six or eight semesters) in the fields of structural engineering and interior design as well as civil engineering, master craftsmen in the main construction trade and construction technicians have limited - also known as minor - authorization to submit building documents in Hesse. They are authorized to submit building applications for

• Residential buildings with no more than two apartments and a maximum total living space of 200 square meters,
• single-storey commercial buildings with a maximum gross floor area of 200 square meters and a wall height of three meters,
• smaller agricultural buildings in building classes one to three up to 200 square meters of gross floor area on the first floor,
• Garages up to 200 square meters of floor space.

Special building design authorization for interior designers

Persons who are entitled to use the professional title of interior designer under the Hessian Architects and Town Planners Act are authorized to submit building proposals for the structural alterations to buildings associated with this professional task in addition to the small building submission authorization. Questions regarding the interpretation of this definition of professional tasks or the existence of this building design authorization must be clarified before a specific building permit procedure is carried out.

Unrestricted (major) authorization to submit building documents
Persons who are entitled to use the professional title "architect" or are entered in the list of engineers authorized to submit building documents are generally authorized to submit building documents for all construction projects.

Please submit these documents to the building inspectorate in the order listed and - as indicated - in triplicate (sorted by copies).

Applications for which documents no. 1, 4, 5, 7 are incomplete or for which these documents are missing in whole or in part will be rejected as incomplete, as they can neither be formally processed nor checked under building planning law. If the signature of the client or the author of the design is missing, we will also reject the application immediately.

The checklist serves as a guide as to which building documents you generally need to enclose with an application for a simplified building permit procedure. You will find out whether these building documents must also be submitted in your specific individual case during the preliminary consultation with our building consultants.

The building inspectorate must decide on the building application or grant or refuse planning permission within three months of receipt of the complete building application. The deadline only begins when the building application has actually been received in full by the building inspectorate and the latter has confirmed receipt.

Note:
All building documents and forms required for the assessment of the project and the processing of the building application must be attached to a building application. A building application is incomplete, for example, if a required written application for an exception, exemption or deviation is missing.

If missing building documents are not submitted by the client within the deadline despite being requested by the building inspectorate, the building inspectorate will reject the application due to incompleteness. This concludes the procedure and a new building application must be submitted.

Missing signatures on application forms lead directly to the rejection of a building application.

The building permit is deemed to have been granted by law, i.e. the fictitious building permit is deemed to have been granted if no decision has been made on the building application within this period; this does not require written confirmation from the building inspectorate that the fictitious building permit has been granted. The fictitious building permit is equivalent to an actually granted building permit.

The building permit expires if construction work has not begun within three years of its issue or if construction work has been interrupted for one year.

The building permit can be extended for up to two years at a time upon application. This application can be submitted informally to the building inspectorate, stating the file number. Please ensure that the application is received by the building inspectorate in good time before the building permit expires.

An extension is generally no longer possible if the law has been amended in the meantime or other framework conditions have changed.

Notification of the start of construction and completion
The building inspectorate must be notified of the start of construction at least one week in advance (notification of start of construction BAB 17). This notification must also be accompanied by the required structural engineering certificates (see below) and the names of those involved in the construction work. The certificates to be obtained or submitted from authorized certifiers or experts depend on the relevant building class of the respective construction project.

Completion of the building shell and final completion of the building must be notified to the building inspectorate at least two weeks in advance, stating the date of completion.

Use before completion
If you wish to use your building before completion, you must notify the building inspectorate at least one week in advance. Early use is only permitted if the project can be sensibly divided into construction phases and these can be safely used individually. In addition, the parking spaces required for the use must have been created. This must be submitted together with the notification of early commissioning, as well as the necessary structural engineering evidence. Otherwise, the building inspectorate will prohibit use within one week due to concerns about public safety and order.

Please use the forms from the building permit decree for the respective notifications.

Structural engineering verifications
The required structural engineering verifications must be submitted to the building inspectorate before the start of construction, but at the latest before the execution of the respective construction phases.
These are, for example

• proof of preventive fire protection
• proof of stability
• proof of sound insulation
• the thermal insulation certificate
• the certificate for energy generation systems

In addition, the conditions such as the clearance of the explosive ordnance clearance service from the building permit must be observed and, if required, the corresponding proof/certificates must be submitted.