The reform of the old social housing is overdue

by time news

Berlin – While the new Senate wants to tackle the major problems on the housing market with an alliance for new construction and affordable rents in a public manner, there is a risk that a socially explosive issue will be overlooked. The problem of the sometimes massive rent charges for people in old social housing in Berlin.

The tenants of 136 apartments on Konrad-Wolf-Strasse in Lichtenberg in particular are feeling just how unbearably heavy the rent burden can be here in some cases. The landlord is now demanding up to 30 percent more rent. The reason for this is that in 2003, during the budget crisis at the time, the Senate decided not to provide any further 15-year subsidies after the 15-year period of housing subsidies had expired, as was customary up to that point.

Unfulfilled promise

The owners were thus given the right to raise the rent in the apartments to the so-called cost rent, i.e. to the rent that results after all expenses for the apartments have been taken into account. The hard exit from follow-up funding was a mistake back then because it was carried out without considering tenants and owners. A more moderate farewell to expensive funding would have been better, which would have prevented cases like the one in Konrad-Wolf-Strasse from the outset.

The new Senate has a duty to find a socially acceptable solution for the households affected. Especially because the previous red-red-green government had already announced a reform of the old social housing. However, the promise remained unfulfilled because the coalition partners could not come to an agreement. The new coalition agreement does not say anything about a reform, but it is necessary nonetheless.

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