Protest against government work
Associations boycott housing construction summit
September 22, 2023, 11:55 a.m
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The crisis in the housing construction industry is fatal, thousands of construction projects are on hold and citizens are burying their dream of owning their own home. Industry and government representatives want to discuss this at the housing construction summit. But this has to do without two associations – in protest.
The crisis in the construction and housing industry is the central topic at a meeting between the industry and government representatives in the Federal Chancellery on Monday – but two industry associations have now rejected the “Housing Summit”. The government is to blame for ignoring the needs and demands of the industry, said the Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies (GdW) and the owners’ association Haus & Grund.
“At the moment the situation is fatal for the portfolio holders,” said GdW President Axel Gedaschko. “But we see that this mixed situation is simply not recognized in the government.” There was a lack of “serious political measures” to combat the construction crisis, which was worsening every day. The GdW will therefore not take part in the meeting on Monday.
The owners’ association Haus & Grund also joined in the rejection. “We will not be taking part in the housing summit either,” said association president Kai Warnecke. “Citizens are no longer able to own their own home,” he criticized. “Yet nothing is being done about it.” He further explained: “We have to realize that more and more obstacles are being put in the way of private property owners.”
Warnecke and Gedaschko referred, among other things, to the recently passed heating law, which places an undue burden on landlords and makes affordable housing options impossible. “The mood of our companies is subterranean, and our companies no longer understand why Berlin politicians are not taking countermeasures,” said Gedaschko. It is also incomprehensible why the federal government continues to stick to its goal of around 400,000 newly built apartments this year. Gedaschko explained that his association did not want to withdraw from the Affordable Housing Alliance. “But Germany now needs a new, true promise for affordable housing for the middle of society.”
Sharp increases in financing and construction costs have significantly slowed down new construction in Germany. A few days ago, the real estate group Vonovia reported that 60,000 planned construction projects were currently on hold. According to an analysis by the financing broker Interhyp, citizens are currently burying their dream of owning their own house in droves.