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BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - An alliance of tenants' associations, building trade unions and social and industry associations sees a "dramatic shortage" of social housing in Germany. The concrete figures - also for the individual federal states - are to be presented this Tuesday (10.30 am) at an online press conference in Berlin. The basis for this is a study by the Pestel Institute in Hanover.

Number of social housing units falling

It is well known that the number of social housing units in Germany has been declining for years. While there were still almost four million social housing units in the old Federal Republic, there were around 1.66 million in 2010 and around 1.088 million at the end of 2022. This was revealed in an answer published last summer by the federal government to a parliamentary question from the Left Party.

Ampel coalition misses housing construction target

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 social housing units has steadily decreased in recent years.

In their coalition agreement, the SPD, Greens and FDP had targeted the construction of 400,000 new apartments per year - 100,000 of which would be social housing - due to the enormous demand, especially in the 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.

Criticism of the state's housing management

The chairman of the Construction, Agriculture and Environment Industrial Union, Robert Feiger, accuses the state of "mismanagement" when dealing with social housing. "It prefers to pay - often far too high - rents to landlords instead of investing heavily in the construction of social housing," he told the German Press Agency. As a result, the state's social spending is soaring. The winners were the landlords, who were able to push through ever higher rents on the market.

Referring to the study by the Pestel Institute, the "Social Housing" alliance announced in advance that the state was being forced to pay rents above the local comparative rents, particularly in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Hamburg. The background to this is that the state generally covers the cost of accommodation for recipients of citizen's allowance. And those on a low income can apply for a subsidy for housing: housing benefit./bg/DP/mis