HOWOGE Wohnungsbaugesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung: 15.000 new tenants: HOWOGE takes over portfolios purchased from Deutsche Wohnen and Vonovia

DGAP-Media / 04.01.2022 / 13:42 NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION, PUBLICATION OR FORWARDING, EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL 15,000 new tenants: HOWOGE takes over portfolios purchased from Deutsche Wohnen and Vonovia Berlin, 04.01.2022. For around 15,000 Berlin residents, it was not just a New Year but also a new landlord. HOWOGE Wohnungsbaugesellschaft mbH has acquired a total of 8,267 residential and 233 commercial units from Vonovia and Deutsche Wohnen. They were transferred to the state-owned company's portfolio on 1 January 2022. The apartments are located in almost all of Berlin's districts. They centre around Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg with Kottbusser Tor, Steglitz-Zehlendorf with the Thermometer settlement and Neukölln with the High Deck settlement. "Securing and maintaining affordable housing in the long term is our social mission. From now on, the new tenants will benefit from the advantages of a state-owned landlord, such as the cooperation agreement with the Berlin Senate. At the same time, we are taking over around 3,000 units with social obligations. This is good news for the Berlin housing market," says HOWOGE Managing Director Ulrich Schiller. "In this spirit, we would like to extend a warm welcome to our new tenants at HOWOGE." With the purchase, HOWOGE is expanding its housing portfolio to a total of around 73,500 residential units. HOWOGE has a presence throughout Berlin, but with around 56,000 apartments the portfolios focus remains in the district of Lichtenberg, where the company mainly owns the large housing estates in Hohenschönhausen. HOWOGE will incorporate its many years of experience into managing the new properties. Investments in existing buildings, new construction and building schools The acquisition was financed by a corporate bond that HOWOGE placed in November 2021. "By drawing on this additional source of financing, we are securing leeway for HOWOGE's further investment activities as well as growth targets for the State of Berlin," says Thomas Felgenhauer, Managing Director of HOWOGE. "We will continue to invest in our stock, build new apartments, meet climate targets and continue our commitment to Berlin's school building campaign." Nevertheless, integrating a large acquisition is always a challenge, as Ulrich Schiller confirms: "To illustrate this: the number of tenants in the new acquired properties, corresponds to the population in the Berlin district of Tiergarten. At the same time, the properties are in very different conditions, ranging from well-maintained houses to buildings in need of renovation. For the new properties, we are planning continuous maintenance, the long-term removal of any pollutants as well as the optimisation of energy consumption to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. Within the first year, we will work on the concepts for how and when we will consider the properties in our refurbishment and climate strategy. As a result, we can approach the implementation phase by setting targets and priorities." Contacts and committees on site With the transfer of ownership, the new tenants have the same rights as HOWOGE's existing tenants. As a result, all the Housing Supply Act regulations, the cooperation agreement with the Berlin Senate as well as the offer of the state-owned housing associations' joint housing exchange portal apply with immediate effect. HOWOGE is there for the tenants' needs on site with janitors and, in some cases, with service points. HOWOGE's social management and the tenant committees can also be contacted. "Tenants of state-owned companies are represented by the tenants' council and the tenants' advisory boards," explains Ulrich Schiller. "While the tenants' advisory councils work specifically on behalf of their neighbourhoods' interests, the tenants' council deals with overarching issues such as new building planning and sends a voting member to the HOWOGE supervisory board." The tenant council elections in all HOWOGE properties will start as early as January 2022; the election of the tenant advisory board for the purchased settlements will take place in September 2022. All the information and contacts for the new tenants can be found on the HOWOGE website at www.howoge.de. About HOWOGE HOWOGE Wohnungsbaugesellschaft mbH is one of six municipal housing companies owned by the State of Berlin. With a housing portfolio of around 73,500 apartments, the company is one of Germany's largest landlords. In the medium to long term, HOWOGE intends to grow its housing portfolio to around 100,000 apartments, in particular through new construction. As part of Berlin's school building campaign, HOWOGE is also building and carrying out major school refurbishments for the State of Berlin.   Important notice: To the extent that this announcement contains forward-looking statements, such statements do not represent facts and are characterized by the words "expect", "believe", "estimate", "intend", "aim", "assume" or similar expressions. Such statements express the intentions, opinions or current expectations and assumptions of HOWOGE Wohnungsbaugesellschaft mbH and are based on current plans, estimates and forecasts which HOWOGE Wohnungsbaugesellschaft mbH has made to the best of its knowledge, but which do not claim to be correct in the future. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and usually cannot be influenced by HOWOGE Wohnungsbaugesellschaft mbH. It should be kept in mind that the actual events or developments may differ materially from those contained in or expressed by such forward-looking statements. Contact: HOWOGE Wohnungsbaugesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung Sabine Pentrop Spokesperson Stefan-Heym-Platz 1 10367 Berlin Germany Phone: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail] Internet: www.howoge.de Listed: Foreign Exchange(s) Luxembourg Stock Exchange End of Media Release Issuer: HOWOGE Wohnungsbaugesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung Key word(s): Real estate 04.01.2022 Dissemination of a Press Release, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de

Language:	English
Company:	HOWOGE Wohnungsbaugesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung
	Stefan-Heym-Platz 1
	10367 Berlin
	Germany
Phone:	[phone]
E-mail:	[e-mail]
Internet:	www.howoge.de
Listed:	Luxembourg Stock Exchange
EQS News ID:	1264753

End of News	DGAP Media

1264753  04.01.2022