Living in the center of Munich: The social landlord

In few German cities, living is as expensive as in Munich – and it is getting more and more expensive. But in the middle of the metropolis one landlord has for years refrained from rent increases and terminations.

Glass fronts, offices, chic new residential complexes, beautiful renovated old buildings. Nymphenburger Strasse is a popular and not exactly cheap address in Munich, which is already very expensive.

But suddenly everything is different in a backyard – rural idyll in the middle of the city. An oasis created by Wolfgang Fischer.

His property would be a gold mine for investors, he says. Again and again real estate agents made him offers, he could already have collected twelve million euros. But his tenants are more important to him, he says:

Now I’ve got another sleazy offer: ‘Dear Mr. Fischer, we have been exclusively commissioned by a renowned Munich entrepreneurial family to acquire a suitable property.’ That is, they would give me millions – but I would have to sneak out of the house very quickly, with a suitcase – so my tenants wouldn’t know that they have been sold. And I don’t sell people.

Well below the rent index

People are not investments, tenants need a safe home – that is Fischer’s creed. He rents well below the rent index and even lowers the rent if someone gets into financial difficulties, as happened in the Corona crisis. No wonder that his tenants feel comfortable here.

“If someone is not doing so well, they will not be thrown out just because they cannot pay the rent,” says one tenant, even if the latter does not apply to her. And you know that the rent will not be increased, there are also no redundancies: “It’s just a very, very great reassurance.”

“This is not healthy growth, this is cancer”

In 1989, Fischer inherited the six-party house with inner courtyard, studio and carpenter’s workshop from his aunt. At that time it was worth around 200,000 euros, says the former actor. The property owner does not like the fact that property prices have now exploded. “Every square centimeter is worth thousands of euros, where is it?” In the past, the standard land value remained the same for 20 years. When he got the house, it was 1,600 marks – now at 14,500 euros, and it is increasing by 25 percent every two years. “That’s not healthy growth, that’s cancer,” says Fischer.

“The rental market is a disaster. We certainly live here on the island of the blessed,” says his tenant. There are also other landlords like Fischer – “but there are also very, very many who squeeze out what needs to be squeezed out”.

The future is also regulated

So that the island of bliss does not go under, a Munich cooperative is to inherit the house and property one day. As a precaution, Fischer has already contractually regulated everything. His tenants then become members of the cooperative, with lifelong right of residence and moderate rents.

“This is paradise, and I make sure it stays that way. Everything negative is out there and I try to avoid this – but we are not angels,” he says.

Fischer, who leads a relatively modest life, has seen a lot. As a young man, he deliberately lived on the streets for a while, and later in New York for a long time. The 79-year-old says that his rental income is sufficient for a decent life.