QNG: the key to the highest funding tier
Without QNG-PLUS the upper KfW loan bracket stays closed. Here is what the seal requires, who awards it, and why a timber building meets the carbon limits more easily.
What the QNG seal is – and why you need it
The Qualitätssiegel Nachhaltiges Gebäude (QNG, Quality Seal for Sustainable Buildings) is issued by the German Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building. It rates a building not only for energy performance but across its whole life cycle: ecological, socio-cultural and economic quality. It is awarded at two levels – QNG-PLUS for above-average and QNG-PREMIUM for clearly above-average quality. For a private client one point matters most: in the federal programmes Klimafreundlicher Neubau (climate-friendly new build, KfW 297/298) and Wohneigentum für Familien (home ownership for families, KfW 300), QNG-PLUS is the condition for the highest loan tier. Without the seal you stay on the base amount; with it the subsidised loan volume rises substantially. The QNG is therefore not a decorative label but a financing decision taken during design. A finished building cannot be re-assessed retrospectively: construction method, materials and evidence have to fit together from the start.
Who the QNG seal makes sense for
The QNG pays off for clients who are already building to a high energy standard and want to use the federal loan volume in full – families under Wohneigentum für Familien as well as private clients and small investors under Klimafreundlicher Neubau. It is also relevant for full refurbishments that bring an existing building up to new-build level. It makes little sense when a project only reaches the statutory GEG standard: then certification effort and benefit are out of proportion. We tell you early which category your project falls into.
What MP-Innovativbau contributes
We build the envelope that makes the seal achievable in the first place: timber frame and timber panel construction with highly insulated wall and roof assemblies, shell-and-core houses (Ausbauhaus) up to the agreed finishing stage, storey additions in timber, roofing with above-rafter or between-rafter insulation, and carports with photovoltaics. For the life-cycle assessment we supply the basis: component build-ups, quantities and product data sheets for the timber materials, insulation and claddings used. The sustainability assessor needs exactly this data to run the calculation.
What has to be proven for the QNG seal
A life-cycle assessment over 50 years to DIN EN 15978, staying within the limits for global warming potential and non-renewable primary energy.
The required energy level – under federal funding usually Effizienzhaus 40, with a heating system that uses neither oil, gas nor biomass.
Low-pollutant construction: evidence for low-emission building products, paints, adhesives and sealants, plus documented use on site.
Sustainable sourcing of materials, in particular chain-of-custody evidence for timber from demonstrably sustainable forestry.
Socio-cultural requirements such as accessibility, sound and moisture protection, and an assessment of summer overheating.
Assessment and award by an accredited certification body, supported throughout by a qualified sustainability assessor.
How a QNG certification runs
Define the target before design
Before the first line is drawn it must be clear which funding tier is aimed at, QNG-PLUS or PREMIUM, and which assessment system is used. That decision shapes layout, structure and material choice.
Assemble the expert team
An energy efficiency expert from the federal expert register handles the Effizienzhaus evidence; a qualified sustainability assessor handles the QNG documentation. Both are independent of the contractor doing the work.
Registration and funding application
The project is registered with the assessment system and the energy efficiency expert issues the confirmation for the application. The KfW application must be filed before work begins – afterwards the funding is gone.
Construction with an evidence trail
During construction we document products, batches and assemblies. Any deviation from the plan has to be reported back, because it can change both the life-cycle result and the pollutant evidence.
Conformity check and seal
After completion the certification body reviews the full documentation and awards the QNG. Only with the seal and the confirmation after completion is the higher funding tier finally recognised.
Why timber leads on life-cycle carbon
The GWP limit is the hurdle most projects stumble over – and this is where timber plays its strength. Wood regrows, binds carbon while it grows, and the manufacture of timber products needs far less process energy than mineral solid-build materials. In a life-cycle assessment to DIN EN 15978 that shows up directly in the production modules. On top of that, timber frame and panel construction reach very good U-values with slim wall build-ups, which saves floor area and improves the area-related indicators. A QNG-PLUS target is therefore usually reachable with a timber structure without exotic special measures.
Services we carry out for this
We carry out the construction work. Evidence and applications go through independent experts.
Our role – and its limits
MP-Innovativbau is a building contractor. We are neither energy consultants nor a certification body, and we do not file funding applications. What we do provide: a structure that can technically meet the QNG requirements, clean component and product documentation for the life-cycle assessment, and coordination with the energy efficiency expert and sustainability assessor on your project. Evidence, applications and the award of the seal sit with those independent parties – that is how the procedure works, and it is safer for you.
Source: qng.info / BMWSBFrequently asked questions about funding
Do I strictly need the QNG seal to get KfW funding?
No. The base tiers of the federal programmes are eligible without QNG. The seal is the condition for the highest loan tier – under Klimafreundlicher Neubau up to €150,000 per dwelling unit instead of €100,000. Whether the extra effort pays off depends on your financing.
Who awards the QNG and whom do I have to commission?
The seal is awarded by accredited certification bodies; for residential buildings these include DGNB, NaWoh and the Bau-Institut für Ressourceneffizienz und Nachhaltiges Bauen. You additionally need a qualified sustainability assessor to prepare the evidence and an energy efficiency expert for the funding itself.
When do I have to decide on QNG – can it be added later?
Realistically only at the very start. Registration, life-cycle assessment and product evidence assume that design and material choice were aligned with it. Anyone who thinks of it once construction has started can rarely close the evidence trail. The funding application has to be in place before work begins anyway.
Does the QNG also apply to refurbishment and storey additions?
For residential buildings the QNG exists for new build and for full refurbishment. A storey addition or partial refurbishment on its own is normally not certified separately; there the BEG single-measure grants apply instead. Whether your project counts as a full refurbishment is for the energy efficiency expert to judge.
Clarify the QNG target before design starts
We look at your project, tell you whether QNG-PLUS is realistic, and coordinate the structure with your energy efficiency expert. Free of charge and without obligation.
Status: July 2026. Information on QNG requirements and KfW terms is provided without guarantee – only the publications of the BMWSB, qng.info and KfW are binding.
All information on funding programmes is provided to the best of our knowledge, without guarantee and without any claim to completeness. It does not replace legal, tax or energy consulting. Terms and budgets change constantly; only KfW, BAFA, NBank and the responsible funding bodies are binding. Applications must generally be filed before work begins.