BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - An alliance of tenants' associations, building trade unions and social and industry associations has called for significantly more housing for people on low incomes. On Tuesday in Berlin, it called for the creation of more than 910,000 social housing units, citing a study by the Pestel Institute in Hanover.
According to the study, there were around 1.088 million social housing units in Germany at the end of 2022. The "Social Housing" alliance assumes that a nationwide increase to a stock of 2 million social housing units is necessary by 2030 - this would roughly reach the level of 2007. According to the study, there is a particularly large shortage of social housing - in absolute figures - in Baden-Württemberg (gap: around 206,000 apartments), Bavaria (around 195,000), Berlin (around 131,000) and Lower Saxony (around 109,000).
The alliance called for the federal and state governments to immediately provide 50 billion euros for the demand for social housing. This was the only way to get a step closer to the Ampel target of 100,000 new social housing units per year. The alliance also spoke out in favor of tax reductions: In future, 7 percent VAT should be charged on the construction of new social housing instead of the current 19 percent.
In their coalition agreement, the SPD, Greens and FDP had targeted the construction of 400,000 new homes per year - including 100,000 social housing units - due to the enormous demand, particularly in cities. However, due in part to the consequences of the war in Ukraine, the government admitted last year that it would initially fall short of the target. Scarce materials, a shortage of skilled workers and rising interest rates are among the obstacles.
Rents for social housing are regulated by the state. Only people for whom the authorities see a particular need because they have low incomes are allowed to live there. After a certain period of time, the apartments can be rented out normally on the market, which is why the number of council apartments has steadily decreased in recent years./bg/DP/tih
