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German KfW loans 2026: all programmes in English

Updated: 2026-09-15 · Reading time: 12 min · ImmoLens editorial team

For most people, buying a property is the largest investment of their lives. That makes it all the more important to know every available funding programme and to combine them well. The KfW bank (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, the German state development bank) provides low-interest loans and Tilgungszuschüsse (repayment grants) for this. In addition, the BAFA offers direct grants for individual measures. More on that in the section „KfW vs. BAFA: how they differ" at the end of the article.

1. Overview: the KfW programmes for residential property

KfW offers loans (low-interest, via your own bank) and in some cases Tilgungszuschüsse (repayment grants, money you keep). Here are the most important programmes at a glance:

2. KfW 124: the home ownership programme

The KfW home ownership programme (124) is the basic funding programme for anyone who buys or builds a property for their own use. It offers a low-interest loan of up to €100,000 per project.

Terms at a glance

A KfW loan covers only part of the purchase price; the rest comes from a regular bank mortgage. How fixed-rate periods, repayment rates and lenders compare is explained in the guide on comparing mortgages in Germany.

Who gets KfW 124?

• Natural persons acquiring residential property for the first time or again
• The property must be owner-occupied (not a rental investment)
• New build or existing building, both are eligible
• No income limit, anyone can apply

Citizenship is not a hurdle either: KfW programmes are open to buyers without a German passport. Everything else that applies to this group is covered in the guide on buying property in Germany without a German passport.

3. KfW 308: Jung kauft Alt (top tip)

Since summer 2024 there has been the KfW 308 programme for families who buy an existing property in need of refurbishment. KfW noticeably relaxed the conditions on 23 October 2025 and raised the loan caps by €30,000 to €40,000 on 3 August 2026. Since then there is also a second, simpler route for the refurbishment obligation.

Loan cap by number of children (since 3 August 2026)

The loan is capped at the purchase price; it funds the purchase price including the land, not the refurbishment itself. The refurbishment has its own programmes, and the two can be combined (see below).

Requirements for KfW 308 (as of September 2026)

• At least one minor child in the household
• Taxable household income max. €90,000 (+ €10,000 per additional child), averaged over the second and third year before the application
• The energy class of the house per the energy certificate must be F, G or H
• Owner-occupied, at least a 50 % ownership share, and no residential property in the household at the time of application
• Refurbishment within 54 months of the loan commitment, by one of two routes:
  • Efficiency House 85 EE (or EH Denkmal EE for listed buildings) for the whole house, confirmed by an energy efficiency expert. Until October 2025 the bar was EH 70 EE.
  • Four individual measures (new since 3 August 2026): heating replacement to at least 65 % renewables, window replacement, facade insulation, and insulation of the roof or the top-floor ceiling, each to the BEG individual-measure standard. All four are required; the only exemptions are a heating system already running on 65 % renewables (or a heat network) and building parts that already meet the EnEV 2001 standard. A contractor's declaration per measure is sufficient proof here; an energy efficiency expert is not mandatory.

4. KfW 300: Wohneigentum für Familien (home ownership for families)

The KfW 300 „Wohneigentum für Familien" (WEF) programme funds the construction or first purchase of a climate-friendly new build by families with at least one child under 18. A precondition is a taxable household income of no more than €90,000 with one child, plus €10,000 for each additional child. Depending on the number of children and the funding level, the low-interest loan goes up to €270,000.

5. KfW 261: loan for an efficient full refurbishment

KfW 261 is the central programme if you refurbish an older building to an Effizienzhaus standard (efficiency house standard). It offers low-interest loans of up to €150,000 per dwelling unit and, for the ambitious levels, Tilgungszuschüsse (repayment grants) of up to 10 % plus bonuses that do not have to be paid back.

Important: KfW 261 only funds full refurbishments in which the entire building reaches a defined Effizienzhaus standard. For individual measures(for example only windows or only insulation) the BAFA is responsible, see section 8.

Worked example: EH 55 refurbishment of a worst performing building

6. KfW 458 + 358: replacing the heating system

KfW funds a heating replacement along two tracks: a direct grant (KfW 458) plus an optional supplementary loan (KfW 358/359):

If you replace your old oil or gas heating with a heat pump, a biomass heating system or solar thermal, you first receive the KfW 458 grant. If you also need financing, you can use the supplementary loan 358 on preferential terms.

This is how the grant is built up since 21 July 2026: a 30 % base grant for everyone, plus, for owner-occupiers, the 16 % speed bonus for replacing a working oil, gas or coal heating system (it drops by 4 points every six months from February 2027) and an income bonus of 40, 30 or 10 % for taxable household income of at most €30,000, €40,000 or €50,000; with a minor child in the household each of these limits rises by €10,000. The grant is capped at 70 %, or 80 % in the lowest income tier, and eligible costs are limited to €28,000 for the first dwelling unit (€15,000 each for the second to sixth). The former 5 % efficiency bonus for heat pumps with a natural refrigerant has been dropped, as has the emissions-reduction supplement. Landlords receive only the 30 % base grant.

7. How to apply for KfW funding: step by step

1. Check eligibility – use the ImmoLens Analyzer to check your listing for funding potential free of charge.
2. Bring in an energy consultant – for KfW 261/300 an approved energy efficiency expert is mandatory. You can find one at energie-effizienz-experten.de .
3. Apply through your own bank – all KfW loans run through your bank. KfW grants (for example 458) are applied for directly in the KfW grant portal.
4. Purchase or building contract – only sign after the funding has been approved.
5. Submit proof – once the work is finished, the energy consultant confirms that it has been carried out.

8. KfW vs. BAFA: how they differ

KfW and BAFA are often confused, but they are two separate institutions with different funding priorities:

Rule of thumb: if you refurbish the entire building to an Effizienzhaus standard → KfW 261. If you carry out individual measures (only insulating the roof, only replacing the windows) → BAFA BEG EM. For a heating replacement, KfW is responsible (since 2024), not the BAFA.

9. Further reading

• KfW – all programmes for private individuals
• BAFA – Bundesförderung effiziente Gebäude (individual measures)
• Energieeffizienz-Experten – find a consultant
• Verbraucherzentrale – building and property financing

10. Frequently asked questions about KfW funding (FAQ)

How large is the loan under the KfW 124 home ownership programme, and who gets it?

Up to €100,000 per project, with no income limit. You have to move in yourself as a natural person, so rental investments are excluded, while a new build and an existing building are treated the same. The fixed-interest period is 5 or 10 years, the term 4 to 25 years with at most 3 grace years, and since 15 September 2026 the effective rate is 4.41 to 4.62 % depending on the variant, i.e. close to the market rate: unlike KfW 300 and 308, this programme is not subsidised from federal funds. You apply through your own bank while the notarised purchase contract is still unsigned.

What changed for KfW 308 Jung kauft Alt on 23 October 2025?

The refurbishment target was lowered from Efficiency House 70 EE to Efficiency House 85 EE, or EH Denkmal EE for listed buildings, to be reached within 54 months. A hardship rule was added as well: if the target is missed but the building still reaches EH 100 EE, KfW no longer cancels the loan and instead charges one percentage point more interest. The change is documented in the BMWSB press release of 23 October 2025 and in the official KfW fact sheet for programme 308.

How much can I borrow under KfW 308, and what changed on 3 August 2026?

Since 3 August 2026 the caps are €140,000 with one child, €160,000 with two children and €180,000 from three children; until then they were €100,000, €125,000 and €150,000. Also new is the second route for the refurbishment obligation: instead of Efficiency House 85 EE, four individual measures suffice (heating replacement to at least 65 % renewables, window replacement, facade insulation, and roof or top-floor ceiling insulation), proven by a contractor's declaration rather than an energy efficiency expert. What counts is the date the application reaches KfW, not the notary appointment. The conditions remain a minor child, energy class F, G or H, and taxable household income of at most €90,000 plus €10,000 per additional child.

Who qualifies for KfW 300, and where is the income limit?

Families with at least one child under 18 who build or first buy a climate-friendly new home. The limit is €90,000 of taxable household income with one child, plus €10,000 for each additional child. The low-interest loan runs from €170,000 to €220,000 for a climate-friendly residential building and from €220,000 to €270,000 with the QNG certificate. KfW 300 and KfW 124 rule each other out. Without a family, the KfW 297/298 programmes apply instead.

How large is the KfW 261 repayment grant?

Since 21 July 2026 between 0 and 10 % of the loan amount, graded by Efficiency House level: 0 % for EH 85 EE and EH 70 EE, 5 % for EH 55 EE and EH Denkmal EE, 10 % for EH 40 EE. On top come 10 points for a worst performing building (starting class G or H, EH 40 to 70 only), 15 points for serial refurbishment (EH 40 and 55) and 5 points for the NH class. On the maximum loan of €150,000 that is up to €60,000 you keep; without bonuses at most €15,000. The condition is that the whole house reaches the level in question and at least 65 % of its heat comes from renewables. Single components fall under BAFA funding.

How do I apply for KfW funding, and in what order?

Loans run through your own bank, while grants are applied for by you in the KfW grant portal; the KfW 458 heating grant covers up to 70 % (80 % on a low income) of at most €28,000 in costs, i.e. €19,600 or €22,400 at most. Timing decides everything: the application has to be on file before the work starts or before the purchase contract is signed, and anyone who files later gets nothing. For KfW 261 and KfW 300 you also need an approved energy efficiency expert, who confirms the work at the end.

Sources and status

Status: 15 September 2026. Programme conditions were checked against the official KfW fact sheet for programme 308 (version 08/2026) and the KfW product pages; the October 2025 reform of "Jung kauft Alt" (EH 85 EE, hardship rule) against the press release of the German building ministry (BMWSB), 23 October 2025 , the higher loan caps and the individual-measures route against the BMWSB press release of July 2026 , and the cuts to KfW 261 and KfW 458 from the BEG reform of 21 July 2026 against the KfW fact sheet for programme 261 (version 07/2026) and KfW's overview of the 2026 BEG adjustments . Interest rates are market snapshots and change daily; only the figures published by KfW, BAFA and your bank are binding.