According to its own information, the Maro cooperative has run into financial difficulties because the financing commitment for a project in the Ebersberg district fell through. In total, the Maro cooperative for independent living and neighborly assistance has completed twelve projects for multi-generational living and six for dementia shared housing in the Munich area. Further projects are under construction. According to the company, 2,100 cooperative members and 300 households are affected by the current insolvency proceedings under self-administration.
Just this May, Maro made a dramatic, urgent appeal to the Bavarian state parliament, the state’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and regional state parliamentarians, asking for support. “If the restructuring fails, not only would the members of the cooperative face the total loss of their equity, but the tradesmen involved would also be left with bills running into the millions,” it said. In addition, funding from the Bavarian State Land Credit Institute (BayernLabo) was threatened with being lost. The residents of the dementia communities feared that they would no longer be able to receive support. “We need the help of the state,” said the Maro board.
The SPD organized in the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district is now campaigning for this. The state government must immediately bring Maro, the affected municipalities and possible private supporters to the table to explore ways out of insolvency, said chairman and former member of the Bundestag Klaus Barthel. According to him, the state parliament member and SPD parliamentary group leader Florian von Brunn submitted a parliamentary question about the state government’s state of knowledge and options for action. From the point of view of the district SPD, it makes more sense and is cheaper for the taxpayer to support such projects, including municipal and cooperative housing construction, than to pursue billion-dollar classic housing construction subsidies. According to the SPD, this would only subsidize housing construction companies and drive up rents. In addition, the time limit in social housing only has a relatively short-term effect.
Florian Streibl is also calling for the Maro to be saved. To this end, the leader of the Free Voters parliamentary group in the state parliament, which forms the governing coalition with the CSU, is publicly addressing the CSU Finance Minister Albert Füracker and his party colleague and Construction Minister Christian Bernreiter.