BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Tens of thousands of people had to vacate their homes last year due to rent debts, among other things. This is according to statistics published by the Ministry of Justice in response to a question from the Left Party in the Bundestag and made available to the German Press Agency in Berlin. According to the statistics, there were more than 30,200 evictions from apartments and other premises in 2023 - an increase of more than 1,000 compared to the previous year.
Rent debts are the most common cause of people losing their homes. Caren Lay, the Left Party's expert on renting and housing, therefore called for better protection against dismissal and capped rents. "More and more people are falling victim to the rent madness, can no longer pay the rents, are being given notice and evicted," she told dpa. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had promised to put stricter limits on rent increases. "But nothing has happened." Nothing of the announced social tenancy law has been implemented.
According to the figures, most evictions were carried out in the most populous federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (8,998), followed by Bavaria (2,774), Lower Saxony (2,501) and Saxony (2,278). Only in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein did the figures fall slightly compared to the previous year. There were around 29,000 evictions nationwide in 2022.
The Left Party criticized that rent arrears are often also caused by delays in social benefits such as housing benefit and housing costs. This can quickly lead to two months' rent arrears, which is a reason for termination./tam/DP/men
