Residents of North Rhine-Westphalia demand a reduction in housing costs
North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, is experiencing a housing crisis, with rental prices on the rise and the number of rent-controlled apartments decreasing. In response, SPD state parliamentarian Sonja Bongers has put forth several proposals to tackle the affordable housing shortage, rising rental prices, and forced evictions.
Bongers' suggestions aim to expand affordable housing availability, strengthen tenant protections, and curb speculative practices by property owners. Key proposals include increasing investment in social housing construction, supporting cooperative and nonprofit housing projects, implementing stricter rent controls, banning or tightly regulating evictions, enhancing legal support for tenants, introducing more robust taxation on vacant properties and speculative buying, increasing transparency in real estate transactions, integrating housing policy with urban development, and engaging communities and stakeholders in sustainable housing solutions.
The housing market situation in North Rhine-Westphalia is particularly affecting families with children, single people, and low-income earners, making adequate housing unaffordable for them. In 2023, North Rhine-Westphalia had the highest number of forced evictions among all federal states, with 8,998 forced evictions, a 3.9% increase from 2022.
Bongers advocates for a more careful approach to forced evictions, particularly for vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, single parents, and seniors. She suggests implementing supportive measures like "Housing First," a homelessness program, to directly address homelessness in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Projections by NRW.BANK suggest that the number of rent-controlled apartments will continue to decrease, with an average loss of around 20,000 units per year, reaching 217,000 by 2035. Bongers believes that with special programs and a state housing construction company, much could be achieved in addressing the housing crisis in North Rhine-Westphalia.
By advocating these measures, Bongers and the SPD aim to create a fairer housing market in North Rhine-Westphalia, making it easier for residents to find secure, affordable homes and reducing the social impact of the housing crisis.
- In her proposed solutions, SPD state parliamentarian Sonja Bongers includes an increase in investment for social housing construction, aiming to expand the availability of affordable homes in North Rhine-Westphalia's housing market.
- To curb the rising rental prices and forced evictions in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bongers suggests implementing stricter rent controls and considering banning or regulating evictions more stringently, as well as providing support for tenant legal rights.
- In addition to her proposals to address the housing shortage, Bongers also advocates for the introduction of more robust taxation on vacant properties and speculative buying in North Rhine-Westphalia, with the goal of discouraging such practices and encouraging their conversion into affordable housing options like those found in the home-and-garden and real-estate sectors.
