Deep in the southwest of Germany sits perhaps the most uncomfortable of many uncomfortable opponents of the German housing company Vonovia. Between Lake Constance and the Swiss border, the resistance is organized in two Constance prefabricated buildings with a total of 252 apartments. The tenants have slogans such as "Vonovia modernized, rent exploded" painted on the paths and a challenge: "We fight back!"
What happens on Konstanz's Schwaketenstraße is an example of what moves tenants in many German cities. And it looks like it's a veritable Vonovia strategy. Actually, the tenants are here as a landlord wishes them: they are modest, tidy and completely satisfied with their living situation. Werner Großmann lives with his wife since 1985 in a three-room apartment on the first floor.
THE MIRROR
Worthwhile modernization
"The trouble started with the Vonovia acquisition a few years ago," says the 75-year-old, largely because of the increase in operating costs that many Vonovia tenants complain about. Since then, Großmann, together with his neighbors and with the active support of the local tenants' association, is fighting for comprehensible settlements, declarations, and for withdrawing the increases. Alone, they quickly realized that they are weak, so they set up a tenant initiative.
The increase in utility costs they might have - like thousands of Vonovia tenants - fainting accepted. While they were still waiting for answers to their questions, the group sent a rent increase and shortly afterwards a modernization announcement.
Werner Grossmann could hardly believe what he read there. Because only 15 years ago, the then owner had invested half a million euros to bring the houses to a modern energetic standard. The effort was immense: the facade was insulated, about 1200 windows were replaced, for three months the settlement was a single construction site. The residents have paid, the monthly rent of the Großmanns increased by about 55 euros. After all: In return, the heating costs went back slightly.
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Photo gallery: Resistance to VonoviaBut now lets Vonovia energetically modernize. The thermal insulation is torn from the facade, the intact double-glazed windows are built-in triple and triple glazed, in addition, each apartment gets shutters. The tenants perceive this as a bully: According to their measurements, the new windows are smaller and therefore less light through - the glass area is reduced by more than 20 percent.
To shower in the container
Although this may seem petty, the building load is high. After a complaint to the labor inspectorate Vonovia stopped the work even in the meantime, because the workers demolished the insulation without protection and distributed the possibly carcinogenic dust in the whole area. Because Vonovia is also renovating the bathrooms at the same time, the tenants have to dodge in shower and toilet containers on the street.
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Anti-Vonovia graffiti in Konstanz
As with any modernization, the tenants pay for it themselves: Landlords are allowed to spend eleven percent of the costs on the rent annually. And that is legally so provided, not only until the total cost is repaid, but permanently. Vonovia anticipates a planned change and only converts eight percent. For the Großmanns, this means that they will pay almost 200 euros more in the future - the thicker insulation layer and the denser windows, by contrast, will only cut heating costs by "up to 20 percent", according to Vonovia.
The housing company explains the renewed refurbishment with the fact that the previous owners had the windows "only partially replaced" and "insulation not completely made". Vonovia plans to modernize it so that "the plant will not have to be modernized again in the next 30 years". Incidentally, "only the cost portion of the window is allocated to the rent, which is due to the additional improvement in the quality of the windows." Further costs, for example for the insulation, are borne by us ". In the cost assortment, the tenants can see what that means in concrete: Vonovia's facade works only about 700,000 of about 800,000 euros on the rent, in the window works, there are 277,800 euros of 388,850 euros, almost 60,000 euros for insulation work to the tenants therefore completely charged.
The company, here the Vonovia principle, benefits from the measure but several times: With the renovation, the value of the building increases, while a large part of the costs is paid by the tenants. Because the rent remains permanently increased, the revenue also increases. And because the rent may not be reduced during a modernization, Vonovia also carries out at the same time still repair work, which actually entitled to rent reduction.
Although Vonovia states in Konstanz "exclusively external subcontractors", but in principle such work also pays off for another reason: the group likes to carry out its modernizations with its subsidiaries, the profits go into the overall balance sheet.
250 euros compensation for two years of construction
Some residents will probably not be able to afford the rent after the modernization. If you take off, Vonovia can rent their apartments again more expensive. Tenants throughout Germany are protesting the practice, which they call "outmodernizing".
A reproach that rejects the management. "At 20,000 refurbishments," said Vonovia board member Klaus Freiberg recently, "I have complaints in the low three-digit range, so in 99.99 percent of cases we are formally correct." This is mathematically rather incorrect. And the real reason for the few lawsuits is likely to be a completely different: who can not pay the rent increase, certainly makes no legal process with uncertain outcome.
The SPIEGEL has examples of modernization from all over Germany, which can be doubted that Vonovia thinks primarily of the welfare of its tenants. In Darmstadt, modernization took more than two years, and the tenants' overall electricity bill doubled. At the end of the construction period, the Group offered those affected a "compensation" for the general damage during the construction period in the amount of 250 euros. The tenants felt the sum as ridiculously low.
The same amount of compensation was paid by Vonovia for a modernization in Dresden, where the rent increased by 1.65 euros per square meter or an impressive 36 percent. The heating costs fell due to the thermal insulation - to theoretically just under 18 cents.
When a heating engineer on behalf of the "Team Wallraff" (RTL) recently examined a heating modernization of Vonovia in more detail, for which tenants pay up to 120 euros more rent, he found quite a few shortcomings. Parts were indeed settled, but apparently not installed. Vonovia responded quickly, upgraded and wrote that "there was a mistake in the distribution of billing within the tenants, we regret this mistake and will correct it as soon as possible".
It's not always that easy. A couple from Dortmund, for example, was rather unhappy about the modernization, with which Vonovia wanted to increase "the attractiveness" of their home. In this case, a new bathroom was installed and the costs for the Vonovia put - lawful - on the rent to. In the future, the couple will pay 79 euros more rent - far too much, as the couple thinks: "So if we live here for 15 years, we'll pay 14,220 euros for the new bathroom, so I think that's bold." The tenants did not have a choice.
The mayor turns on
Constance is now forming a broad resistance against Germany's biggest landlord. The local tenants' association has led state parliamentarians of all parties to the construction site and obtained a municipal council decision. Even the CDU mayor Ulrich Borchert intervened after a long hesitation, with a video message on the Internet, in which he described the Vonovia approach as "indecent". The tenants' association had calculated for some apartments in the Schwaketenstraße, how much the rents should increase by the modernization of Vonovia: an average of one-third.
The Konstanzer Mieterverein currently holds three lawsuits against the real estate company. So far, Vonovia has often not fought such disputes, but ended with a settlement - a defeat in court could thus avoid the company. The tenants' association does not want to accept such an offer.
For the real estate company, the dispute in Konstanz could be uncomfortable, because he needs modernization. Vonovia and the previous owners of the residential real estate have saved many years in the maintenance and substance of the buildings, so investment is urgently needed. In the past year, Vonovia only slightly increased its maintenance and substance preservation expenses by a good 26 to 346 million euros. By contrast, the company spent almost € 779 million on modernization, which the Group can pass on to tenants - an increase of € 306 million over the previous year.
The importance of modernization for Vonovia can be seen in the latest annual report: Last year, the Group increased its rental income per square meter by 4.2 percent. However, due to normal rent increases only 1.6 percent came together - the modernizations brought an additional 2.5 percent.