Sunday, February 21, 2021
Residential Researcher on House Building Debate
"Number of apartments in Germany is enough"
Instead of just discussing the construction of single-family houses, Germany should ask a more fundamental question, says economist and housing researcher Daniel Fuhrhop from the University of Oldenburg: Do we even have to build? He mentions ways of creating affordable living space and protecting the climate – without building a new one.
ntv.de: Germany is discussing whether the construction of new single-family houses should be restricted or even banned entirely. A meaningful debate as it is currently being conducted?
Daniel Furhhop: The question that is being discussed is specifically whether municipalities should include single-family houses in new development plans, or at least whether more living space should be created with other house types where space is limited. It's a question of "how" when building. But we should first ask a more fundamental question: about "whether" new buildings are actually needed. If this fundamental question is actually answered with yes in one place, if new construction is really necessary, then other types of construction are more efficient, more climate-friendly and more social than single-family houses. However, more would have to change than just the municipal development plans. It is also about the materials, for example. Extremely climate-damaging concrete, for example, should be avoided.
And how would you answer this fundamental question about the need for new buildings?
It would be ideal if we could get by with the approximately 43 million existing apartments in Germany. The number and area of the apartments is sufficient. But of course people's needs change. People are still moving from the countryside to the big booming cities, albeit a little less recently. The population is aging, more people are living alone. This increases the living space per person. But building at any price must not be the answer to this changed demand, if only because the population will decline in the long term. The need for living space per person will not continue to rise either. In 20 years at the latest, the current situation is likely to be reversed, and many apartments and single-family houses will become vacant.
Waiting that long is not a prospect for a family that is now looking for adequate housing!
No, nobody would have to wait that long if politics were to exhaust all possibilities besides the new building. There are already around 15 million single-family houses in Germany. Many of them change hands every year and there could be a lot more. Because in many houses and large, family-friendly apartments, older people live alone who had never planned or wanted it that way, often because the children have moved out and their partner has died. Many of them would like to change their living situation, for example living in a smaller area suitable for senior citizens or sublet parts of their house. But the state would have to help them with that.
How could that happen?
There are many approaches to this. One could promote the creation of suitable, senior-friendly housing and forms of living in the cities where many older people would like to live. You'd have to help them move. Then single-family houses on the outskirts would be free for families. The municipalities could also help to rent out granny flats in single-family houses, which are often empty, or to promote corresponding renovations. Communal forms of living, multi-family houses or the placement of roommates in return for help with the household and garden are options. There are positive examples of all of this, but it is not being implemented seriously and professionally with the necessary resources.
Using granny flats, living in exchange for help – that all sounds nice. But can the need for hundreds of thousands of additional apartments in Germany be covered in this way?
I am convinced of that. The examples that exist show how great the potential is: There are many elderly people in particular who leave living space empty because they have had bad experiences, for example with rented nomads, or are simply overwhelmed. In Karlsruhe, the city has given such homeowners targeted assistance with renting them out and has guaranteed to help them with problems. The city was able to broker 60 previously vacant, inexpensive apartments per year. In this way, 10,000 to 20,000 additional apartments could be provided throughout Germany.
In Belgium, for example, 300 accommodations per year are arranged in Brussels alone through the concept of living for help. Extrapolated to Germany, that would also correspond to a potential of 10,000 or more apartments.
However, all these models are only implemented in individual projects under the social aspect and are not considered in terms of housing policy and financed accordingly. In contrast, billions of dollars flow into new building funding every year without taking climate policy goals into account. Housing policy must be completely realigned at all levels.
Max Borowski spoke to Daniel Fuhrhop.
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