Housing shortage: There is only statistically enough living space in Germany

My colleague Rolf-Herbert Peters argued yesterday, with great knowledge and many statistical figures, that there is in principle enough living space in Germany. It is just that it is distributed incorrectly, and our expectations of housing have continued to grow. 60 years ago, Germans got by with less than half the living space per person. And since 1950, the number of apartments has more than tripled. Instead of investing more and more money in new buildings, said my esteemed colleague, we should think about redistribution.

That’s not wrong.

And yet it reminds me of two things: Firstly, the statement that there is actually enough food in the world for everyone. It is just distributed incorrectly. Also correct in principle, but not particularly helpful for those who are currently hungry. Secondly, my grandfather, who used to say: “We used to play football with crumpled rags. That worked too!”

Sure, it goes almost everything. Even as a family, you can get by with little space. And the term “housing shortage” contains the word “need”. I am not using statistics here, but reporting on my life, although it is always dangerous to derive general social conditions or demands from personal living conditions and sensitivities. I am not suffering from any hardship at all, I have a safe, comfortable roof over my head. Nevertheless, my reality does not seem to me to be completely untypical for families in big cities.

Housing shortage: We are still doing well. But how do others find affordable housing?

We live in Hamburg. Four people in a little over 90 square meters, old building, toilet without heating. The children’s wardrobes are in the hallway for lack of space, and in the summer the winter clothes are stored at my mother-in-law’s – also for lack of space. Our index rent, which is linked to the inflation rate, is above the rental index. We didn’t have to sign the contract. But we did. We wanted an apartment in a familiar social environment. We could have moved to Wendland or somewhere in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. More space, lower rent. But no job. No friends. Well. Is there a housing shortage? Is that already a need? That’s debatable.

I can still remember times when friends and acquaintances in Hamburg were looking for a new apartment, viewed several, and then simply moved. That was a long, long time ago. Anyone who has an apartment here today stays. No matter how thin the walls are or how damp the basement is. And that’s really not because our expectations have increased immeasurably or because there are simply no longer 120 square meters with a garden and balcony for 1000 euros including heating.

I know couples who are quarreling and who are only still living together because he or she cannot find a new affordable apartment. I know older, childless couples who would be happy to make their huge old apartment available to a young family if they could find a smaller apartment in the same neighborhood for a comparable rent. And that’s not even starting with Ukrainian refugees who are fighting with low-income earners or students for 15 to 40 square meters of living space.

Of course, I also know single elderly ladies whose husbands have died and children have long since moved out, and who live alone in 200 square metres. None of these ladies would be willing to set up a shared flat for the elderly, no matter how much persuasion they had. Because you settle in over the years and life is eventually full of familiar rituals and endearing quirks. Human! No one would be willing to swap their familiar home in the final third of their life for affordable 40 square metres – even if they could find them.

My colleague Rolf-Herbert Peters would like to see “smart incentives” such as “tax exemption for smaller homes” to encourage people who have a lot of living space to make room for others. Or “moving apartments out of solidarity”, even if that sounds “utopian” at first. All correct.

What use are utopias when regulatory policy fails?

But you can’t rent utopias. The finding that there is no shortage of living space in Germany from a statistical point of view may be correct. It doesn’t hurt to think about alternative forms of housing and living. But we need more, above all: regulatory guidelines that work. For example, as my colleague Rolf-Herbert Peters writes, more social housing. And fewer luxury renovations.

We need well-mixed, livable neighborhoods instead of gentrification. More municipal and cooperative home ownership. Cities and municipalities should exercise pre-emption rights on land more often. And then specifically promote housing projects that support the coexistence of people of different generations. These should be projects where profit is not the top priority. And when exactly will the rent-gouging paragraph be reformed?

Good ideas for a better future are one thing, and having a goal of where we want to be one day is of course helpful. But wouldn’t that be even better if we could exploit and expand all, really all, existing possibilities in order to create affordable housing in the near future?