The President of the German Tenants’ Association, Lukas Siebenkotten, warns that the heating law could become a cost trap for tenants “double over” – and demands that tenants can exert influence.
For the President of the German Tenants’ Association, there is one topic in particular these days: will the traffic light coalition find a compromise on the Building Energy Act? And how does this turn out? Because the law will undoubtedly have an impact on the 19.9 million tenant households in Germany. Lukas Siebenkotten warns of possible negative social effects of the law.
Mr Siebenkotten, the traffic light is working on the details for the heating law. What dangers do you see for tenants?
Tenants are doubly threatened by this law. Firstly, because the modernization costs are usually passed on to the tenants, which means that the basic rent increases. And secondly, the heating costs for tenants can also increase, depending on which type of heating the landlord chooses.
How could this risk be reduced?
The landlords would have to claim subsidies for the heating installation and would then not be allowed to pass these subsidies on to the tenants. In addition, the modernization levy should be halved, from the current eight to four percent per year, and the rent increase capped at EUR 1.50 per square meter.
When it comes to the question of which heating system the landlord chooses, it is more difficult. After all, most of them are looking for a good relationship with their tenants and will decide what makes economic sense. But if the landlord insists on hydrogen heating, it would be extremely expensive as things currently stand. Tenants need a say in order to prevent such escapades. We expect the SPD and the Greens in particular to assert themselves in the negotiations on such social issues.
When you look at the housing market, one horror story follows the next. Is there any development that gives you hope?
There isn’t really much that gives hope. The basic data are difficult: demand is high, too little is being built, the number of social housing units is falling year by year, and absolutely nothing is happening with the urgently needed tenancy law reforms.
Is there really nothing?
One point is the “new non-profit housing”, a project from the coalition agreement, for which details are to be presented in the coming week. The aim is to promote affordable housing for people with low incomes. The special thing about it: Unlike social housing, they do not fall out of the fixed price after 30 years, but can be offered cheaply forever. I hope that the Ministry of Finance will provide funding for this. But even that is just a delicate little plant.
The federal government is missing its goal of 400,000 apartments per year, but also does not want to invest any more. What conclusion do you draw from this?
I have the impression that politicians in general – at federal and state level – have come to terms with the misery on the housing market. And we can’t let that get away with it. I think the housing issue is of similar importance to the defense issue, which is why I think a special fund of 50 billion euros would make sense. You can also have one housing-Think about solos. This could be used to finance affordable housing.
Residential construction is one thing, but the coalition agreement also includes projects to protect tenants. What grade would you give the traffic light on this topic?
What should I grade? She hasn’t done anything yet.
If you didn’t hand in anything, that was a six when I was at school.
Then that’s how it is. Nothing happened on the subject of capping, nor on the changes to the rent index and the grace period payment. It is also unacceptable that Minister of Justice Buschmann refuses to change anything on the subject of index leases. This is not in the coalition agreement, but in times of high inflation, these ensure high price jumps.
One problem on the housing market is that older people often live in large areas after their children have moved out, while young families cannot find sufficiently large apartments. Do we have a generational conflict in the housing market?
I don’t know if there is a conflict. But one thing is clear: there is an injustice between young and old in the housing market. It is mostly women who have a lot of space available towards the end of their lives because the children have left home and the men are usually more likely to die. So far, no one has found a clever solution to this problem, because moving to a smaller apartment would usually be much more expensive. There is no incentive to move out. Meanwhile, the young families are the pinched ones.
If the development on the housing market continues like this, will it be normal for children to live with their parents until they start work in their mid or late 20s?
In some cities today you will hardly find a room in a shared flat for less than 700 euros. I think it will be normal for children to live in their parents’ homes for much longer.
The state is currently not managing to relax the housing market. Companies, on the other hand, are increasingly opting for company apartments because without them they would not be able to get skilled workers. What opportunity is there?
You have to get private companies to build company housing. I don’t think that you have to set up huge funding programs for this. Instead, companies must come to the conclusion that they believe this is a sensible investment. There are already a few examples such as the clinic in Tübingen or the Munich public utility company. Deutsche Bahn should also become more active here. It has large areas, which are no longer needed for rail traffic, but can be used for housing construction.
There are also regions that are currently not in such high demand and where there is a lot of vacancies. What do you think of the idea of a “Get Out” bonus?
Such a bonus can be useful to make moving to certain regions more attractive. However, it would be more important to make rural areas in particular more attractive. It’s about fast internet, local public transport or the supply of doctors.
Local government expert
Jurist
Lukas Siebenkotten, born in 1957, has been President of the German Tenants’ Association since 2019. After graduating from high school and studying law, he worked in the municipal administration of Recklinghausen (NRW). Siebenkotten is a member of the SPD and was mayor of the town of Willich near Düsseldorf from 1995 to 1999.
Advice
The German Tenants’ Association (DMB) was founded in 1900 and represents the interests of tenants in Germany. In over 300 local associations throughout Germany, 1,300 full-time and 2,500 volunteers offer advice on all aspects of rent.
tenant country
According to the statistics agency Eurostat, Germany is a tenant country. According to figures from last year, more than half of the people (53.3 percent) live in rented accommodation – the highest figure in the European Union.