Over the months, the list has grown longer. In the beginning, Zaman Nikzad only had a few addresses on it. In Germering, for example, Landsberger Strasse, 90 square meters, € 1,300 rent excluding bills. According to his records, Nikzad wrote to the landlord on June 30th. But the landlord didn’t even answer. Even with the other apartments on Nikzad’s list – well over 80 addresses – there was always something that didn’t work out. Nikzad also noted the reasons: already taken, no response. Or the offer was too far from Nikzad’s place of work.
Zaman Nikzad, 34 years old, married with four children, is looking for an apartment for himself and his family. He has a steady job, a regular income and, with the housing entitlement certificate, is entitled to social housing. But Zaman Nikzad cannot find an apartment. Despite an intensive search, despite the list on which he noted all the offers that were even rudimentary. “We’ve been looking for eight months,” he says. “It is very difficult for my wife and my children.” And of course for him too. The Nikzad family is slowly beginning to fear that they might really not be able to find anything in time.
The Nikzad family came to Germany from Afghanistan in the summer of 2015 and ended up in Herrsching some time later. Initially with two children, and shortly afterwards with three children, they lived in the collective accommodation, in a container that was far too small for the family. By chance, in 2017 they got the apartment they have been living in until now. But after a change of ownership, the termination came this year – due to the new owners’ own needs.
After some back and forth, the case is now in the Starnberg District Court. At the end of January, a judge will most likely decide that the Nikzad family must move out. The key question is: when? And have the six found something else by then?
Around 600 people with a residence permit, like Nikzad and his family, are waiting for government-funded accommodation in the Starnberg district. And if you talk to experts from the region about the topic, it becomes clear: the core of the problem does not lie at the municipal, but at the federal level. Because like the Nikzads there are hundreds of thousands across the country who cannot find a suitable apartment.
In Starnberg there is another special feature: the municipalities designate the areas for residential construction. However, because more than 70 percent of the district area is classified as a landscape protection area, the municipalities quickly come into a conflict of interests. Which is more important: nature conservation or housing? There is no in between.
And that would not solve the problem either, says Michael Vossen from the Association for Living in the Starnberg District, among others. If there were suddenly vacant apartments here, they would quickly become interesting for other apartment hunters from the greater Munich area – the situation of the Starnbergers would only improve to a limited extent.
For Zaman Nikzad, looking for an apartment also involves a lot of paperwork. He has already applied for a housing entitlement certificate three times; the paper is only valid for one year. Nikzad speaks good German, he is proud of his language certificate, level B1. But housing entitlement certificate – you first have to be able to pronounce it, let alone understand it. Nikzad is lucky, his neighbor helps him with correspondence with the authorities, the Herrschinger Helferkreis supports him. But Zaman Nikzad works as a sandblaster in Gilching, and the new apartment shouldn’t be too far away from his place of work.
Nikzad also noted this in his list: First it was 30 kilometers, then 75. The furthest apartment is in Amerang – 104 kilometers from his company. “That is very far,” says Nikzad. The new apartment should cost a maximum of 1200 euros cold, 90 square meters, as before, would be nice, says Nikzad. Somewhere between Herrsching and Gilching would be ideal.
But Nikzad is not someone who makes demands. “I just want to find an apartment,” he says. But if they had to move far away from Herrsching, the children might have to change schools. The older one goes to the fifth grade, the second oldest to the third grade. If possible, Zaman Nikzad would like to avoid that, because the children like it at school.
Zaman Nikzad would have plenty of reasons to be upset. He could curse the German bureaucracy that puts so many obstacles in his way. He could complain about the politics that blocked it for decades to promote social housing, or landlords who have reservations. But Zaman Nikzad is not angry: He just wants an apartment – for himself and his family.