Study by IW Cologne
Every third family in big cities has an apartment that is too small
01/25/2023 7:56 p.m
Living space is becoming increasingly scarce in German cities: every third family lives in cramped conditions, and people with a migration background are also severely affected. There are solutions, but they currently only have potential “in theory”, according to the German Economic Institute.
Every third family in German cities lives in an apartment that is too small. The Institute of German Economics (IW Cologne) comes to this conclusion, which has a corresponding study published. People with a migration background are also particularly affected: a fifth of them live in cramped conditions.
Overall, around six percent of tenant households in large German cities live in cramped conditions – i.e. in apartments with fewer rooms than the residents. On the other side of the scale, six percent also live in spacious apartments: This is the case when the number of rooms exceeds the number of people living in them by three, i.e. a single person in a four-room apartment.
Families often cannot afford to move because of the high rents, and students are leaving home later and later, the IW explained the trends. Accordingly, older existing tenants in particular live in spacious apartments. The institute pointed out that the exchange potential of large apartments for small ones is “only in theory”. Because for many existing tenants with old contracts, it is simply cheaper to stay in a larger apartment than to move to a smaller apartment with a more expensive new contract.
The institute appealed to politicians to do their part to “make better use of the housing stock in Germany”. The willingness to downsize could be “further increased by relocation assistance and support in finding accommodation”. The IW also called for measures that facilitate loft conversions, additions or the creation of granny flats.