Student city Munich: standstill in the ghost town – Munich

For a few more years, a large part of the student town will remain a ghost town. Nobody knows when the more than 1,200 vacant dormitories will be occupied again. Meanwhile, the student union and the state government are arguing about money. The Studentenwerk, as the owner, is demanding a special subsidy of 24.5 million euros from the Free State this autumn in order to start concrete renovation planning. Science Minister Markus Blume (CSU) rejects this as “completely utopian”. Instead, the student union should think about whether it could sell land or increase the rent.

The longer the vacancy in Germany’s largest student settlement, the Stusta, lasts, the more tense the atmosphere between the Minister of Science and the head of the student union seems. Each side blames the other for finally making progress. The Munich students are suffering. Many are dependent on a cheap place in a hall of residence; An apartment in the Stusta costs an average of just under 300 euros including heating. The number of people on the waiting list for the approximately 11,000 student union places has recently increased significantly, by more than 40 percent in three years to a good 13,000.

A year and a half ago, in February 2021, there was a fire in the basement of house 13. A resident died in the hallway on the fourth floor from smoke inhalation. The investigations of the public prosecutor’s office are still ongoing, the house with 180 seats has been uninhabitable since the fire. The student union had the other houses checked for fire protection. Experts and the fire brigade did not find any “considerable danger” for the residents, which would have resulted in an immediate evacuation, but there were serious deficits. The dilapidated houses 9 and 12 with a good 1000 places were emptied.

So far, those responsible for the student union have been remarkably reticent, at least in public, to formulate financial wishes for the Free State. But now Ursula Wurzer-Fassnacht, the managing director, and Paul Siebertz, the chairman of the board of directors, are putting pressure on them. In an interview with the SZ, both emphasize that nothing will progress without a commitment from the Ministry of Science for a special grant. Specifically, you need 13 million euros for house 9 (Hanns-Seidel-Haus) and 11.5 million for house 12 (orange house) in order to be able to start with the concrete renovation planning.

According to Wurzer-Faßnacht, for the first time ever, the Studentenwerk needed a special government subsidy for renovation. The equity saved has been used up because there was an enormous loss of income during the pandemic, for example in the canteens, and also high rent losses due to the vacancy. Only when the special subsidy has been secured can one apply for the usual standard subsidy of 40,000 euros per living space from the Ministry of Building.

A “concentration risk” has materialized in the Stusta, says Alexander Uehlein, head of the housing department in the student union. All buildings date from the same construction period, from the 1960s and 1970s. Now they are almost all at once ready for renovation. However, smaller buildings in the older part of the settlement have already been modernized.

A “huge problem” is the student city, says Siebertz. The settlement has only belonged to the Studentenwerk since 2015. At that time, the facility was taken over by the Studentenstadt München association, which would have been completely overwhelmed with the upcoming renovation. The takeover was the wish of the Ministry of Science, says the head of the board of directors, Siebertz. You were happy to do that. An assurance from the state government that it would provide the necessary money for the renovation was not required. It would “never have occurred to him” to attach such a financing condition to the takeover, says Siebertz. “So far we have always received the necessary support from the state government.” The cooperation is good.

Open detailed view

Blume, on the other hand, plays the ball back in an interview with the SZ: “Knowing about the renovation backlog, the student union took over the student city. You could have known back then” what the owner would face. Regarding the student union’s demand, he asks: “Where are 24.5 million euros supposed to come from all of a sudden?” Such a sum must be decided by the state parliament.

“Unfortunately, those responsible in politics are not doing anything,” Siebertz notes. Concrete planning for building 12, with its 440 spaces, can only begin if the money is promised this fall. The plan then envisages moving back in four years, 2026. But then only one building would be finished. Wurzer-Fassnacht says that the planning for House 9, the largest dormitory with 616 places, will only begin once the financing has been secured. And when the fire house (red house) can be renovated is completely open, negotiations are currently still taking place with the insurance company. The only good news from the ghost town concerns house 11 (blue house) with 246 places: After years of renovation, it should be ready in December or January.

Open detailed view

What next? Minister Blume demands: “The refurbishment of the vacant apartments must be tackled as soon as possible. The Munich student union urgently needs to do its homework!” This not only includes further planning, but also checking your own assets: Can you sell unneeded land, for example? You also have to consider whether the rent can be increased now that the student loans are also increasing, or the semester contribution in order to generate more income.

The state government is also considering, says Blume, whether Bayernheim, as a state real estate company, will join the Stusta in order to carry out renovations or new buildings. However, the competence for renting clearly lies with the student union. He sees an “entitlement” in this, and Blume criticizes this: The Free State is already funding every single student apartment, and it is not its original task to “solve the internal financial problems of the student union”. As an institution under public law, this is completely independent and just as remote from the state as, for example, the Bavarian radio.

So the leaders of two powerful institutions are arguing, and the actual main characters, the students in Germany’s most expensive city, wait and wait. You have to ask and listen carefully to suspect a possible approach: the Free State is aware of its responsibility for the students, says Blume, and everyone involved is working on a solution. “We won’t leave the Studentenwerk out in the rain.”

Ursula Wurzer-Faßnacht says: “The fear of the winter semester is there.” She means the fear of many students in view of the housing shortage and inflation; but also their concern that they will not be able to support the young women and men sufficiently. “The Bavarian student unions are chronically underfunded. We’ve always had a lack of administration.”