Finding accommodation in Germany is a problem almost everywhere. © photothek / IMAGO
A Regensburg scientist proposes to increase old rents in order to persuade pensioners in particular to move into smaller apartments. This causes an uproar – but he defends his idea.
Berlin – Even the first time Steffen Sebastian made the proposal, it didn't go down well. Despite the criticism and vehement rejection of the idea in political circles, he stands by it: In order to combat the housing shortage, there must be a change in the system, he says in an interview with Die Welt. Those who live in apartments that are too large should be "motivated" to move into smaller ones in order to make room for families looking for housing. The motivation? Rent increases in apartments with old contracts.
Economist: State must stop protecting low rents
Steffen Sebastian is a professor of economics at the University of Regensburg, he also advises the federal government. He says that Germany doesn't actually have a housing shortage, there is enough housing for everyone. It's just that it's wrongly distributed.
The problem, however, is not that older people necessarily want to live in their large apartments. Rather, they are forced to stay there because rents in the area have risen so much that a smaller apartment would be even more expensive. Many pensioners simply cannot afford this. So they stay in the apartments that are too large, while young families cannot find a suitable apartment.
Steffen Sebastian would like to change that: In his opinion, the old rents should not be allowed to remain so low. If you have the money to stay in a large apartment, you should continue to be allowed to do so. But it also has to cost something, he thinks. "It can't be that the state provides extreme protection for people who have been paying a low rent for decades anyway, regardless of whether they are needy or not. And others can't find affordable housing at all," the economist tells Die Welt. "Our proposal is: support for tenants with low incomes instead of support for tenants with low rents."
Tenants' Association proposes: Enshrine home swaps in law
In fact, in Germany it has been found time and again that families with children in particular live in cramped apartments, while many pensioners are accommodated in too spacious ones. In January, the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW) found in a study that around six percent of households in large cities live too cramped, while 6 percent also live in apartments that are too large. Among households with people over 70 years of age, the figure was as high as 9 percent that live too generously. The IW therefore also concluded that the home exchange could possibly remedy the situation.
There are also other voices that approve of the Regensburg professor's proposal in principle. Some, however, have other ideas on how to organize the redistribution of housing. For example, Matthias Günther of the Pestel Institute suggests that people who live in larger apartments should pay more taxes.
The German Tenants' Association is against rent increases of any kind, but they also see the potential in home exchange. The Tenants' Association is therefore proposing to enshrine the exchange of flats in law so that every person who wants to move into a smaller apartment has the right to do so – at the same rent they already pay. The exchange could be funded from public funds, according to the idea.
Politicians are focusing on housing construction – but this is not currently taking place
It is highly questionable whether the idea of the Regensburg researchers will be implemented politically. After all, the proposal is not well received by any party – after all, politicians know how unpopular it would be. But there are no revolutionary ideas in politics on how to solve the housing shortage in Germany. Instead, more and more emphasis is being placed on housing construction, which is currently in a deep crisis.
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At this year's Housing Day in Berlin, experts from all areas of the industry warned of a complete standstill in construction if something does not change politically quickly. The costs and hurdles are now so high that the new building is no longer worthwhile – unless you build it in order to rent it out later at exorbitant prices.