“Social Explosive”
Tenants’ Association: Wages will grow much more slowly than rents in the future
05/23/2023, 09:39 am
Rising rents are a problem, especially in big cities. According to the Tenants’ Association, this threatens to worsen significantly in the next few years – throughout Germany. Above all, the association criticizes politics and calls for quick action.
The German Tenants’ Association expects rents to continue to rise significantly in the coming years and a growing number of overburdened households. Association President Lukas Siebenkotten told the Funke newspapers that there should be no illusions – “everything that is legal will be exploited in rent increases in the next few years”. Rents would “rise much faster than wages,” he predicted.
If the current development continues, the number of people who have to spend 40 percent or more of their money on rent will increase “drastically” to over five million households in the next few years, Siebenkotten said. He expects that the gross cold rent in the portfolio will soon reach an average of ten euros per square meter. According to the most recently available statistical figures, the average for 2022 was 8.70 euros.
“Not enough apartments are being built and the ones that are being built are not aimed at those who need them most,” Siebenkotten told the Funke newspapers. He warned of “social upheaval” and accused politicians of not yet recognizing the “social explosives” on the subject. More funding is needed to keep housing affordable. In addition, private financiers would have to be persuaded to invest in social housing again.