The number of social housing units in Germany fell by more than 15,000 last year. When building new social housing, the federal government did not even achieve half of its own goals.
The number of social housing in Germany continues to decline. At the end of last year, there were around 1.072 million such apartments nationwide for people with low incomes. That is around 15,300 fewer in 2022, as can be seen from the federal government’s answer to a question from the Left in the Bundestag.
The construction of 49,430 social housing units was newly funded last year. That is less than half of its own target: the traffic light government had actually planned to provide 100,000 new social housing units every year. But the bottom line is that their number has been declining for years because many existing social housing units are no longer subject to rent control and can then be rented out at higher prices.
According to the Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Construction, the funds provided by the federal government for social housing this year amount to 3.15 billion euros. They are expected to increase to 3.5 billion euros in 2025.
NRW has the most Social housing
The Left’s housing policy expert, Caren Lay, who made the request, spoke of a “historic low”. “This is a fiasco in view of the unchecked rise in rents and the growing housing shortage,” she explained. According to the figures, the loss of social housing has even increased recently: in 2022, around 14,000 social housing units were lost.
When comparing the federal states, the development varies. According to Lay, the stock fell by four digits in North Rhine-Westphalia, Berlin, Rhineland-Palatinate, Brandenburg and Lower Saxony. In Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, however, it increased by more than 1,000 apartments.
There was a particularly large number of new funding last year in the two most populous federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria, followed by Berlin and Hamburg. The most social housing units overall were recorded in North Rhine-Westphalia with 426,755, Bavaria with 134,793 and Berlin (99,849).
“The public sector must build more”
Rents for social housing are regulated by the state. Only people who the authorities see as having a special need are allowed to live there. However, after a certain period of time, the apartments can be rented out normally on the market. The duration of this bond is regulated differently in each country.
Lay criticized that the federal funding for social housing construction of 2.5 billion euros last year was obviously not enough. “Especially now in the construction crisis, the public sector must build and promote more itself,” she demanded. At least 20 billion euros would have to be made available every year for public social and non-profit housing.