Berlin housing: dramatic decline in social housing!

Berlin housing: dramatic decline in social housing!

Berlin, Deutschland - In Berlin, housing construction is becoming more and more a problem child. In 2024, a decline of around 20 percent was found in the construction of new apartments compared to the previous year. A total of just 3,461 apartments were completed, of which only 906 social housing were. The proportion of social housing is therefore far below the agreed quota of 50 percent. The Tagesschau has determined these alarming numbers and identified as "dramatic". A target of 6,500 new apartments annually remains unmatched, while only 4,348 apartments were completed in 2023. For 2025, a small improvement is predicted to 4,775 apartments, but the challenge remains great.

The reasons for this decline are diverse: rising prices, problems in the procurement of materials and a lack of specialists make the construction of new apartments for the Herculean task. This is particularly questionable, since hundreds of thousands of social housing were still available in Berlin in the 1990s. Today there are only about 25 percent of them. Niklas Schenker, spokesman for housing policy of the left, indicates that only every fourth municipal apartment is a social housing, although 60 percent of Berlin is entitled to a living permit.

new cooperation agreement and its consequences

From 2024, a new cooperation agreement with the state -owned housing companies (LWU) will come into force. This will replace all previous rental policy agreements and is intended to help increase the proportion of state -owned apartments in the Berlin rental apartment stock to over 30 percent. The classic rental apartment stocks of the Berlinovo are also affected. The Berlin Housing Supply Act of 2016 forms the basis for these measures.

A central goal of this agreement is to design new construction projects in such a way that at least 50 percent of the living space with public funding as well as rental price and occupancy bonds are equipped. The first rental rents for freed -financed living space in the new building must not exceed EUR 15 per square meter. In addition, rent increases according to § 558 BGB are limited to a maximum of 11 percent within three years and the average rent of all existing rental contracts may not increase by more than 2.9 percent annually.

The situation of social housing

The situation of the social housing is based on a current analysis of the Investment Bank It was considered, it is clear that the subsidized rental apartment stock in Berlin is under pressure. So it pays off to have a good hand when looking for an apartment - especially for those categories that rely on affordable living space.

The new framework conditions in housing and the resulting measures can offer hope, but the way to improve the living situation in Berlin is undoubtedly long and stony. It remains exciting to observe what progress will be made in the coming year and whether it will be possible to finally achieve the goal of sufficient social housing.