2023-09-01 08:32:57
Greenness? Despair? Or are they already the harbingers of the next federal election campaign? A mixture of all of the above is probably behind the SPD’s latest housing policy push. The parliamentary group is calling for a “nationwide rent freeze”, whereby they want to allow landlords an increase of six percent within three years, up to the local comparative rent.
Such a demand may be popular, but it is not logical. According to estimates, more than 700,000 apartments are missing in Germany. Because of the war refugees from Ukraine, the need for housing is greater than ever. At the same time, housing companies are hardly starting any new construction projects due to the sharp rise in construction costs, and project developers are filing for bankruptcy. In a time like this, not making renting more attractive, but making it less attractive – you have to come up with this idea first.
More than half of the citizens in Germany live in rented accommodation, more than in any other EU country. Making a policy for tenants has always been part of the core brand of the Social Democrats. But while a politician like Hans-Jochen Vogel, once Mayor of Munich and later Federal Minister of Building, was primarily concerned with reforming land policy and cheaper new buildings, the emphasis has shifted more and more towards preserving the status quo. The SPD understands a policy for tenants today primarily as a policy for existing tenants, i.e. for those with a cheap old lease. The Greens see it the same way.
Where this leads can not only be seen in Berlin, which has been damaged by the rent cap, but also in many other German cities: anyone who has rented an apartment will not give it back so quickly. Anyone looking for one is competing with hundreds of competitors for a vacant apartment. And when in doubt, he also pays prices beyond the rent control limit – the main thing is that the miserable search is over.
Advertised rents in major cities have risen by 22 percent over the past five years. In Berlin, prices have risen by 20 percent in the last year alone, to an average of more than 13 euros per square meter. In Munich, almost 19 euros have been reached. This not only creates frustration, but is also bad for the economy. Moving to another city for professional reasons? Better not, many think.
Build, build, build
It is obvious what would help against the misery: building, building, building. And that as cheaply as possible. But the pragmatism with which up to 800,000 new apartments were built every year in the 1970s has given way to a perfectionism that is more likely to cripple than encourage new construction.
Nowhere else are new houses as energy-efficient, soundproof and fire-proof as they are in this country. In combination with the higher interest rates and material prices, new construction is no longer possible below a basic rent of 18 to 20 euros per square meter, the association of the housing industry calculates. However, very few can pay rents of this magnitude.
A trend reversal is not in sight
Instead of the politically desired 400,000 new apartments per year, the construction industry only considers 200,000 to be realistic. The 540 million euros a year that the building minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) was able to negotiate in the Growth Opportunities Act for the building industry will not be enough to reverse the trend. There is little to be seen of the promised construction cost reduction offensive – also because the federal states and municipalities do not want to be influenced by the federal government in their regulations. If the Greens had their way, the efficiency standards for new buildings would be tightened again in 2025.
Recently, there has been more talk of how the existing living space could be better distributed. One must talk about the “consumption of living space”, the increased number of square meters per capita, says the building minister. It also promotes moving to places with empty housing.
Sarah Huemer Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 24 Julia Löhr, Berlin Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 79 A comment by Julia Löhr Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 51 Birgit Ochs Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 113
The Greens want to use tax breaks to persuade pensioners to rent their houses to families. If, on the other hand, an economist suggests letting existing rents rise more sharply in order to ensure more movement on the housing market, the horror in politics is great.
Nobody wants conditions like in London, Paris or Amsterdam, where average earners are pushed out of the inner cities. But Germany, with its pronounced tenant protection, is a long way from that. Not every household that spends more than 30 percent of its net income on housing is therefore financially overburdened, even if the tenants’ association puts it that way. A “rent freeze” will not solve the problems on the housing market. In the medium term, this would only make the situation for tenants even more difficult.
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