The newspaper said in a report that German cities are facing a complex housing crisis characterized by a low supply of housing in the face of inflated demand and a surge in rental prices across the country.
The crisis has manifested itself in a number of ways. The crisis was evident in Leibniz Straße in Rhein Charlottenburg, a middle-class neighborhood west of the German capital, when a real estate portal a week ago invited customers to view an empty apartment there.
<Despite the high cost of rent (1,071 euros per month), dozens of people lined up on the street to view the 3-room apartment, hoping to get it. The line stretched for 150 meters, from a nearby street to the door of the apartment, and the portal that offered the apartment received 600 electronic inquiries one hour after the apartment was advertised on its website, according to the German newspaper Bild.
The newspaper reported that the line stretched for 150 meters, from a neighboring street to the door of the apartment. The newspaper reported long waits to view the apartment, which it said had become “a symbol of the difficult situation of the housing crisis” in Berlin.
<Despite the housing shortage in Berlin, the number of newly built apartments is falling for the sixth consecutive year. The State Statistical Office in Berlin-Brandenburg recently announced that 15,186 apartments in new buildings were approved for construction last year, 10.7 percent less than in 2021.
This is a small number. This is a tiny number compared to even 2017, when 21,562 new apartments were approved.
This is a very small number compared to even 2017, when 21,562 new apartments were approved. But the sharp decline last year is justified, according to German press reports. Prices of building materials rose significantly in 2022, and interest on loans increased, so many people backed away from previously prepared construction plans, and investors approached the situation with caution.
The construction industry is already facing a tough time. The construction industry is already facing a serious crisis in Germany, and the tenants“ association and the construction labor union have already warned of an expected ”housing market disaster" in light of the country's severe housing shortage.
In addition, house rents in Germany have risen in recent months, driven by inflation, and rents could rise again in the coming period, due to a new law being prepared by the Ministry of Economics on home heating."
The new law warns of a “catastrophe in the housing market” in light of the country's acute housing shortage. The new law prohibits the use of gas for heating, which means the cost of heating will increase in many homes, whose owners will be forced to switch to electric heating systems.
This shift will hurt German households in recent months, driven by inflation, as well as the possibility of higher rents in the near future. This shift will ultimately hurt the tenant, as the law allows landlords to pass on 8% of their additional costs to the tenant each year, meaning an annual increase in the country's rental prices.
All of these developments coincide with the new law prohibiting the use of gas for heating, which will mean an increase in the cost of heating in many homes that landlords will be forced to turn to electric heating systems. All these simultaneous developments, according to observers, are exacerbating the housing crisis in Germany, pushing rents up, and prompting significant criticism of the government, especially in the context of the heating bill.
