Once a building permit application has been submitted, the start of construction work on the excavation and on individual parts or phases of the project may, upon request, be approved even before the building permit is issued (partial building permit). The subject of the partial building permit is, on the one hand—as the dispositive part—the approval of the preparatory construction measures. On the other hand, the partial building permit contains—as the declaratory part—a so-called “preliminary positive overall assessment” regarding the fundamental approvability of the entire project.

The partial building permit expires if you do not begin construction within three years of the permit being issued, or if construction has been interrupted for one year after this period. The deadline may be extended by up to two years at a time, even multiple times, upon written request.