The law to reduce bureaucracy in the Trade Regulation Act and the Energy Consumption Labeling Act was published in the Federal Law Gazette on July 23. The individual provisions come into force at different times.
The largest share comes from the abolition of the continuing education requirement for real estate agents. This single step relieves the industry by around 44.9 million euros per year. The mandatory regular training requirement will be dropped as of July 24, 2026. The federal government trusts that most business owners exercise their profession responsibly and have their own interest in keeping their knowledge up to date. Moreover, no such requirement exists for agents from other EU countries. The continuing education requirement for residential property managers, however, remains in place – the Bundestag insisted on this when it passed the law on June 11.
Another ten million euros are saved by the amendment to the Energy Consumption Labeling Act (EnVKG). As of July 30, 2026, district chimney sweeps no longer have to attach the so-called national heating label to older heating systems. The requirement, in effect since January 2017, was part of the National Action Plan on Energy Efficiency (NAPE). However, an evaluation from 2020 showed that the targeted energy savings and replacement of old boilers fell significantly short of the goals.
Additionally, the expansion of the approval fiction under the Trade Regulation Act to all trades requiring a permit will be introduced. It also comes into force on July 24. Under this rule, a trade is considered approved if the responsible authority does not decide on the application within three months.
Source: Bundesregierung
