The Association of Cities and Municipalities (DStGB) would like to see a “clear signal” for an acceleration of housing construction. DStGB managing director Gerd Landsberg told “Bild am Sonntag” that enough affordable housing can only be created if the federal and state governments provide significantly more resources. There is also a need for tax relief for both new construction and renovations. Social housing funding must be increased to “at least five billion euros per year” in the long term.
The Main Association of the German Wood Industry (HDH) called for a “construction economic stimulus package” with low-interest loans via the state development bank KfW. General manager Denny Ohnesorge also advocated in the “Rheinische Post” for a reduction in property transfer tax, a special fund to support public housing companies, as well as faster approvals and simpler building specifications.
The Federal Chancellery has invited people to the Affordable Housing Alliance Day on Monday. Federal Construction Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) launched the discussion format in spring 2022. Among other things, it should work on achieving the stated goal of 400,000 new apartments per year. However, the construction industry is in crisis, primarily due to increased construction costs and interest rates, and the stated goal is currently a long way off.
ZDB boss Pakleppa has high hopes for the top meeting in the Chancellery. “Never before has an entire sector of the economy looked forward to a meeting in political Berlin with such anticipation,” he explained. “The meeting will be a reality test for the government’s housing policy.”
However, other associations have already given up this hope. The umbrella association of the housing industry (GdW) and the house owners’ association
Social associations also spoke up with demands. Caritas and Diakonie demanded stricter requirements for energy-saving renovations at EU level. This represents “a huge lever for climate protection and a noticeable relief for people with little money,” explained Diakonie President Ulrich Lilie.
“If you have little money, you most likely live in a poorly insulated apartment, which means you have high heating costs and will be hit particularly hard by increases in energy prices,” explained Caritas President Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa. A revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive is currently being worked on in Brussels. The plan is to introduce minimum standards and requirements for the renovation of buildings with the worst energy efficiency.
The social association VdK called for more efforts to create barrier-free apartments and referred to demographics. “There is already a lack of around 2.2 million barrier-free apartments, but demand will increase extremely: in 20 years, over 21 million people will be 67 years of age and older,” warned VdK President Verena Bentele. The topic has so far been neglected in the construction alliance.
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil called for better support for families when buying houses. “I think we need to help families more to be able to afford their own four walls,” said Klingbeil in the “BamS” interview. Among other things, the income limits for low-interest building loans would have to be raised in order to give more families access to them.
