Eberswalde: Tenants fight together against high rents and displacement!

Eberswalde: Tenants fight together against high rents and displacement!

In Eberswalde, Brandenburg, tenants are actively committed to their living space. They have joined forces to prevent the threat of displacement and high rents following a planned renovation of their house. The municipal housing company WHG is planning to sell a stately city villa on Danckelmannstraße – to the current tenants. This initiative comes at a time when rental prices in many German cities have experienced a rapid increase. Rents in Germany will reach an average square footage of around 12 euros by 2024, while rental prices in Eberswalde will remain comparatively low, with currently around eight euros per square meter for new customers and six euros for existing rents. daily news reports that the WHG originally wanted to renovate the city villa itself, but would have increased the rental prices to up to 15 euros per square meter. The tenants, including students and scientists, therefore fear that they will no longer be able to afford the rent after the renovation.

Supported by the “Mietshäuser-Syndikat”, a nationwide initiative that promotes the collective purchase of living space, the tenants have founded an association and a GmbH to buy the city villa. To raise the necessary capital, they take out a loan and collect microloans from friends and family for their own share. However, it remains a challenge - they need around one million euros to complete the purchase this year. WHG boss Henrik Hundertmark supported the sale as a step to promote diversity in Eberswalde and would like to give the city more space for other projects. A sensible solution that not only benefits the owners, but also the community.

As far as the rent brake is concerned, Eberswalde is not affected, even after the most recent extension until 2029, which applies to almost 20 municipalities in Brandenburg. Given the current rental prices, tenants in Eberswalde are confident that their efforts to keep rental prices below ten euros per square meter are realistic. ImmobilienScout24 appreciates that Eberswalde pursues a particularly considerate market policy compared to other cities, which enables residents to purchase property and not get caught up in the grind of the real estate market.

The commitment of Eberswalde's tenants is not only an example of maintaining affordable housing, but also a call to actively shape the quality of life in their city. As it turns out, collective purchasing makes sense and offers long-term prospects for the residents. While the rental price development in Germany, according to data from Statista, which will continue to rise until 2024, the Eberswalde model seems to be a real ray of hope in the fog of the housing market.