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Rental apartments in Berlin: Protection for hardship cases
Photo: Filip Singer/EPA
It was an announcement that got tenants all over Germany excited: "If inflation is permanently four percent, rents will have to increase accordingly every year in the future," Rolf Buch, CEO of the real estate group Vonovia, told the "Handelsblatt".
A plan that could put poorer families in distress.
Now the company is trying to smooth things over.
"Our tenants do not have to worry that they may no longer be able to afford their apartments as a result of any rent adjustments," said Konstantina Kanellopoulos, co-CEO of the Vonovia subsidiary Deutsche Wohnen.
She was reminiscent of a voluntary hardship regulation that the group introduced a few years ago.
When rent adjustments are made, the individual income and living conditions of those affected are taken into account.
Affordability is a key feature of housing, said Kanellopoulos.
Deutsche Wohnen has belonged to Vonovia since last year.
commitment to Berlin
The company announced on Wednesday that it would continue to adhere to a commitment to the city of Berlin.
According to this, rents for the company's own portfolio and the portfolio taken over by Deutsche Wohnen should not increase by more than one percent on average for three years and then not more than inflation.
Vonovia rents around 505,000 apartments in Germany.
Deutsche Wohnen accounts for around 154,000 apartments, most of them in Berlin.
In 2019, Deutsche Wohnen imposed its own hardship rules as a “tenant promise”.
This includes that nobody has to give up their apartment due to rent increases or modernization measures.
Vonovia is examining the sale of nursing homes
In parallel with the trouble with its rental properties, Deutsche Wohnen is currently examining the sale of its nursing home division.
A review process had been started, but it was only just beginning, said a spokesman, and nothing had been decided at the moment.
The "Handelsblatt" had previously reported on the possible sale.
The business is on the books with a valuation of around 1.2 billion euros.
The company wants to hire an investment bank to look for a buyer and start an auction in the summer or autumn.
rai/dpa
