KfW 298 for a new rental apartment: the application sequence before you commit

If you are buying a new-build apartment to let with KfW loan 298, the application must reach KfW before you sign the notarial purchase contract, or, if the contract takes effect only once KfW approves the funding, before you pay anything. It rests on a confirmation from an energy-efficiency expert, the Bestätigung zum Antrag (BzA), and goes through a bank of your choice, not to KfW directly. So the order is fixed: developer's evidence, expert's confirmation, bank's application, and only then the notary or the first payment.

Choosing the programme is covered in our KfW routing guide; this guide covers the 298 application only.

KfW 298, Klimafreundlicher Neubau Wohngebäude (climate-friendly new residential building), funds the construction or first purchase (Ersterwerb) of a new home by people who will not live in it. A first purchase means buying within 12 months of the building's formal acceptance (Bauabnahme) (Merkblatt 297/298, 07/2026). Checked on 4 October 2026, the KfW 298 product page offers three tiers:

• Effizienzhaus 40 (Klimafreundliches Wohngebäude): the efficiency-house 40 standard, a life-cycle emissions limit shown by a life-cycle assessment, and no oil, gas or biomass heating. Up to €100,000 per unit.
• Effizienzhaus 40 with QNG: the same, plus a sustainability certificate at QNG-PLUS or QNG-PREMIUM level (Qualitätssiegel Nachhaltiges Gebäude). Up to €150,000 per unit.
• Effizienzhaus 55, a temporary tier: the Effizienzhaus 55 standard, no fossil heating and a valid building permit when you apply. For a purchase, the contract and ground-breaking must date from 16 December 2025 or later. The tier runs until its federal funds are used, at the latest for applications that reach KfW by 31 December 2026 (KfW new-build overview; KfW press release, 30 September 2026). Up to €100,000 per unit.

These are ceilings, not entitlements. For a buyer, eligible costs are only the building costs of the unit, shown in the contract or a separate seller's cost statement; land is excluded (KfW information sheet, 07/2026). The amount cannot be raised after you apply, and there is no legal right to funding. The rate is set on the day of commitment, or the lower rate on the day KfW received the application applies (Merkblatt); check KfW's current conditions.

The applicant is you, as a private individual who will not live in the unit. Owners' associations (WEG), partnerships (GbR) and companies can also apply (Merkblatt).

In a developer sale, the expert is often the developer's. KfW's FAQ allows an expert employed by a developer to accompany the project for first buyers, and KfW says buyers of a new build receive the BnD from the developer (KfW 298). Ask early whether that expert will issue a BzA for your unit. Without it, your bank cannot apply.

Funding is ruled out if the project starts before KfW receives the application. For a first purchase, the project start is signing the purchase or developer contract (Bauträgervertrag). The date the application arrives at KfW counts, not the date your bank receives it. Planning and advice beforehand do not count as a start (Merkblatt).

The permitted way to sign first is a condition precedent (aufschiebende Bedingung) in the deed: the contract takes effect only once KfW approves the funding. Three rules apply:

• The condition must be in the deed when you sign. Adding it later is not allowed.
• The application must reach KfW before the first payment of the price; no deposit may be paid before then.
• KfW's model wording also commits the buyer to apply within a number of days after signing, which the parties fill in.

The product sheet exempts only this condition. It does not mention a withdrawal right (Rücktrittsrecht), so do not assume a withdrawal clause protects the funding; ask your financing partner first. For the Effizienzhaus 55 tier, purchase contracts signed before 16 December 2025 are excluded even with a condition, and the documented-consultation exception covers construction contracts only.

Signing after KfW has received the application but before it commits is allowed, at your own risk; KfW advises counting on the money only once you hold the commitment (Zusage). Two drafting points follow. A first purchase split into a land contract and a separate building contract is not funded where a single developer contract under the Makler- und Bauträgerverordnung (MaBV) could have been used. And because the buyer answers to KfW for the standard, KfW recommends a seller-liability clause; its model protection clause makes the efficiency level a contractual quality and obliges the seller to hand over the evidence by completion. Your notary and lawyer settle the wording.

Illustrative example. Fictional project and dates; no loan amount, rate, processing time or approval is implied. An investor is considering an apartment like Apartment B from our new-build comparison: Leipzig, 50 m², bought off-plan from a developer for €250,000 and let from completion. Unlike the shared example, which was notarised in March 2025, this investor is at the reservation stage in October 2026. The developer states the tier "Effizienzhaus 40 with QNG-PLUS" and plans acceptance and handover for 1 November 2027. The investor applies before signing (route A); route B, signing first with the KfW condition, appears where it differs.

Sources: Merkblatt 297/298; KfW 298 product page and FAQ. The developer's payment conditions are in Bauträger payment plans; the wider purchase sequence is in our buying-process guide.

Steps 3, 5 and 6 cannot be repaired later: a missing condition cannot be added, and a contract signed before KfW's receipt date closes the 298 route for that unit. Had the developer offered only Effizienzhaus 55, step 5 would have an outer date of 31 December 2026, earlier if funds run out, and you would need the seller's written confirmation of the building permit and of ground-breaking on or after 16 December 2025.

Most of the evidence in steps 1 to 4 sits with the developer and its expert. For purchases in Berlin, Dresden or Leipzig, Alpha Minoris's Buyer's Agent service coordinates the purchase and financing paperwork with the lender, the developer and the energy expert, through notarisation to handover; you need not live in the city. It does not file KfW applications or guarantee approval: the application runs through your financing partner, eligibility follows KfW's rules, and the contract wording stays with the notary and your lawyer.

Drawdown. The committed amount is paid out in full, in one sum or in parts, within 12 months of commitment; undrawn amounts extend automatically by up to 24 months, 36 months in all. From the 13th month, a commitment fee (Bereitstellungsprovision) of 0.15 per cent a month runs on the undrawn amount, and each amount drawn must be spent on its purpose within 12 months (Merkblatt). In an off-plan purchase you draw as the developer's instalments fall due, so a construction delay can push the last draw past month 12.

Illustrative example, continued. If completion slipped and €40,000 of the KfW loan stayed undrawn for three months beyond month 12, the fee would be €60 a month, €180 in all. See also commitment interest before the first rent.

Repayment-free years. You choose a bullet loan of up to 10 years, or an annuity loan of up to 10, 25 or 35 years with one to two, one to three or one to five repayment-free years, in which you pay interest only on the amounts drawn. The rate is fixed for up to 10 years; for a longer term, KfW then offers a renewal without the federal subsidy. More repayment-free years lower early payments but raise later ones and the debt left when the fixed rate ends (KfW 298). Partial special repayments are not possible.

Proof of completion. The expert checks the eligible costs and the building against KfW's technical requirements and issues the BnD; you sign it, and the financing partner confirms the timely use of funds and submits it. It is due without delay after completion, at the latest 36 months after full payout. For the QNG tier, the expert also confirms that an accredited body has issued the certificate. The product sheet sets no separate certificate deadline, so in practice the certificate must exist when the BnD is issued (Merkblatt). A planned label is not a certificate (what QNG labels prove).

If the building misses the QNG tier, report the downgrade by the time the BnD is submitted; KfW adjusts the purpose and amount of the commitment. A later switch to Effizienzhaus 55 is not possible (KfW 298 FAQ). Ask your financing partner what an adjustment would mean for any amount already drawn above €100,000.

If a developer is offering you an apartment with KfW 298, line up the expert's BzA and your lender's application before the draft contract goes to the notary. Discuss your first rental property with Alpha Minoris.