Early payment saves money: New regulation planned for compensation payments in redevelopment areas

In future, the city of Jena would like to provide property owners in redevelopment areas with even greater support in paying the so-called equalization contributions early and with financial benefits. The city council passed a corresponding draft resolution at its meeting on 27.8.2025.

What is a redevelopment area?

Redevelopment areas are demarcated urban areas in which redevelopment measures are carried out in order to eliminate urban planning deficiencies or improve functionality. With the help of federal and state urban development programs, streets, squares, open spaces and buildings have been renovated or redeveloped in Jena since the early 1990s.

These five areas in the city of Jena are affected:

1 "Unteraue industrial estate" redevelopment area

2 "Sophienstraße" redevelopment area

3 "Model urban renewal project" redevelopment area (old town)

4 "Karl-Liebknecht-Straße" redevelopment area

5 "Western city center" redevelopment area

What are equalization contributions and why do they have to be paid?

The redevelopments and the associated use of subsidies result in a redevelopment-related increase in land value - in other words, properties in these areas become more valuable. According to the Building Code, property owners must therefore pay this increase in value to co-finance the redevelopment at the latest after completion of the redevelopment - this is called a compensation amount. The equalization amount is calculated individually for each property.

How can owners reduce the equalization amount?

With the present resolution, the city of Jena is offering voluntary and early payment of these equalization amounts, whereby discounts of up to 25 % can be granted. Those who decide early to pay the equalization amount will have to pay less.

Further information on the implementation periods for the individual redevelopment areas can be found on the website https://planen-bauen.jena.de/de/ueberblick-sanierungsgebiete

There are advantages for property and apartment owners as well as for the city of Jena in the event of early redemption:

Advantages for owners

- Reduced compensation amount due to discounts and self-selected redemption date

- Legal certainty, as subsequent claims are excluded

- Payment in installments possible

Advantages for the city of Jena

- Reuse of income for measures in the redevelopment area (no repayment to the federal and state governments)

- Significant reduction in administrative costs

The agreements concluded for the early repayment of the compensation amount are final. A retroactive discount is not possible.

Background to the discount: Until the redevelopment statutes are repealed, there is still uncertainty about the actual amount of the redevelopment-related increase in land value. The discounts are intended to take this risk (upwards/downwards) into account - which is why the percentages are also reduced towards the end of the redevelopment period.