Housing associations in the south-east under pressure to renovate

The housing associations in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia are calling for support in retrofitting their properties. "The existing apartments in the central German states are affordable, but increasingly under pressure: the costs for energy-efficient refurbishment and accessibility are rising, while rents remain low," associations from the three states jointly announced. With rents between five and six euros per square meter, it is impossible for housing companies to meet the required refurbishment standards.

"Balancing act between climate protection and affordability"

Without differentiated funding, what was once social progress threatens to become an economic burden. "Central Germany is exemplary for the balancing act between climate protection and affordability," said Ingo Seidemann from the Bundesverband Freier Immobilien- und Wohnungsunternehmen (BFW) Mitteldeutschland, according to a press release. Stable framework conditions are finally needed to enable investment.

While the housing shortage in major cities is being discussed throughout Germany, the housing and real estate industry in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia is struggling with other realities, the press release states. "Vacancy, ageing, the need for renovation - these are our challenges, but also potential that can be exploited," summarized Matthias Kuplich from the Association of Housing Cooperatives in Saxony-Anhalt (VdWg).

Joint solutions required for south-east

The associations see practical problems with the existing funding programs and are offering the governments in Dresden, Magdeburg and Erfurt a dialogue to develop joint solutions. They are too selective, bureaucratically complex and can hardly be combined. "A funding policy based on metropolitan standards misses the reality in Saxony-Anhalt. Our rent levels, our towns and villages need their own instruments - not slimmed-down metropolitan programs," said Jens Zillmann from the Verband der Wohnungswirtschaft Sachsen-Anhalt e. V. (VdW).