From the German Tenants' Association to the social association Caritas to the industrial union Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt: Normally these organizations report separately.

Every year in mid-January, however, they work together with others and take stock of the status of “social housing” in Germany.

Julia Loehr

Business correspondent in Berlin.

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On Thursday, the alliance's balance sheet was more negative than it had been for a long time.

The situation on the housing market is "dramatic," said Tenant Association President Lukas Siebenkotten.

700,000 apartments are currently missing in Germany.

Matthias Günther, head of the Pestel Institute, spoke of the "biggest housing deficit in more than twenty years".

According to the almost 50-page study that the institute and the working group for contemporary building from Kiel prepared for the associations and the union, the demand for living space has recently increased significantly due to refugees from Ukraine and immigration from other countries.

"With a migration gain of 1.25 million people in the first nine months, the year 2022 has an outstanding position," says the study.

That is half a million more people than in 2015. The growing number of single households is also contributing to the growing need for housing.

In 1995 there were around 35 million households in Germany, currently there are around 41 million.

More than 44 million households are predicted for 2045.

Demand is growing in the cities

According to the figures from the Federal Statistical Office, there were 43.1 million apartments in Germany at the end of 2021 - in purely mathematical terms, more than enough.

But in structurally weak places or districts, almost every tenth apartment is empty, according to figures from the analysis company Empirica.

In contrast, demand is concentrated in the seven largest German cities and the commuter belts surrounding them.

In 2021 - more recent data is not yet available - 293,400 new apartments were completed across Germany.

In addition, the construction of 380,900 new homes was approved.

However, experience has shown that not all permits are implemented, and if they are, then only years later.

According to the Pestel study, it currently takes almost 60 months from project planning through the start of construction to completion.

In 2014 it took half as long.

"Emergency braking" for an entire industry

The construction costs per square meter of living space in German cities recently averaged almost 3980 euros - pure production costs, the price of the property is not yet included.

Housing companies warned months ago that they would have to charge rents of up to 20 euros per square meter in view of these costs, but only a few people earned that much.

Dirk Salewski, President of the Federal Association of Independent Housing Companies (BFW), therefore spoke of an "emergency stop" for the entire industry.

For a long time, Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) stuck to the traffic light coalition’s new construction target of 400,000 new apartments per year, but recently admitted that this number will not be reached for the time being.

Housing associations criticize the government's new subsidy policy.

After 10.4 billion euros in grants for energy-efficient new buildings were approved in 2022, the traffic light coalition now wants to channel the money primarily into the energy-efficient renovation of existing buildings.

Only EUR 1 billion is earmarked for new buildings.

According to which criteria it will be distributed, Geywitz wants to announce by March.

The alliance of building trade unions and associations called on the federal government to launch a "social housing construction offensive".

Specifically, it wants a special fund with 50 billion euros by 2025. There have recently been several such special funds outside of the regular federal budget: one was designed for the Bundeswehr with 100 billion euros, the energy price brakes are financed from the economic stabilization fund filled with 200 billion euros.

"More money alone will not make the situation better," said Geywitz on Thursday.

"We have to become more productive and digital, work with more robots on construction sites." The Haus und Grund owners' association set a counterpoint on Thursday.

He is also calling for more new construction.

Overall, however, living in Germany has “become more affordable” in recent years.

According to the association, wages rose by an average of 14 percent between 2015 and 2021, while rents rose by less than 8 percent.