Association criticizes politics
Companies are building far fewer homes than planned
01/18/2023 3:32 p.m
Germany needs apartments, the population in this country is growing, and above all there is a lack of cheap offers. Politicians want to build a lot to combat the problems. However, the housing industry will complete almost a third fewer projects than planned in the next two years. She has clear demands on politicians.
The housing industry will build almost a third fewer apartments than planned this year and next. This was the result of a survey by the Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies (GdW). Accordingly, the member companies will probably not complete 20,000 of the originally planned 61,000 apartments in this period. In the medium term, 200,000 instead of the 400,000 apartments targeted by the federal government would probably be built per year in Germany.
The association called on politicians to take action to create affordable housing. Overall, the building conditions have deteriorated significantly due to higher interest rates, rising prices for building materials and more stringent conditions for government support programs for energy-efficient buildings.
“Business expectations are in the basement. What we have now is not a short-term dip,” said Axel Gedaschko, President of the GdW Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies. The association represents around 3,000 municipal, cooperative, church, private, state and federal housing companies that manage around six million apartments.
According to the association, 21 percent of the housing units originally planned for 2023/2024 in social housing will no longer be feasible given the new situation. Extrapolated to all GdW companies, this means a decline in the number of completions in social housing by around 4,200 residential units.
“In the end, the tenant has to pay significantly more”
The association criticized the federal government for its changed funding conditions for the modernization of buildings. “Either the measures are not carried out or in the end the tenant has to pay significantly more,” said Gedaschko. In view of the recent influx of refugees, the federal government must also give the municipalities more financial support with interest-free loans and grants so that new living space can be created.
The GdW demanded an immediate program for affordable and social housing from politicians. For example, the VAT rate in social housing should be reduced to seven percent. Further tightening of tenancy law should not be implemented because it cannot be financed. In addition, there should be adequate and reliable funding and longer KfW interest rates. The association also demanded that the funding principle be adjusted, and the higher the funding, the longer the discounted rental must be.