Slow implementation despite legal entitlement
The Berlin Brandenburg Airport company (FBB) was making little headway on noise protection for local residents. According to the Association of German Property Users (VDGN), around 20,000 homeowners had filed applications for noise insulation. Some 17,000 had received eligibility assessments. But only about 2,500 applicants had seen the approved measures fully or partially completed. In the previous six months: six completed acoustic house renovations.
"The FBB has only done what it was forced to do by court rulings or by massive public protest," said VDGN president Peter Ohm.
Areas affected
The noise protection zones extend well beyond Schoenefeld. Blankenfelde-Mahlow, Grossziethen and Berlin districts such as Lichtenrade, Rudow and Bohnsdorf also fall within the zones. In these locations, inadequate noise insulation can directly affect property values. An insufficiently protected property trades at a discount on the open market.
For investors in southern Berlin, which also touches parts of Neukoelln, the status of noise protection measures was a factor in property valuations.
Legal position
The FBB is obligated under the planning approval decision (Planfeststellungsbeschluss) to cover the costs of noise insulation in the defined protection zones. Critics accused the company of meeting this obligation only under legal or public pressure. The VDGN warned that insufficient noise protection could further jeopardise the airport's opening.
Owners were advised to review their entitlement carefully and to pursue implementation with the FBB. Market data for the region show that uncertainty surrounding BER influenced local price trends.
