Living - Left: State must not stay out of the housing market
Link politician Juliane Nagel testifies poorly to the state government in housing policy and calls for state intervention. "The free state should not withdraw from the housing market – otherwise, only those who can afford high rents and expensive real estate will benefit. Everyone else is at risk of being displaced," explained the politician in Dresden. Her party had to laboriously fend off every small housing policy initiative of Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU).
She pointed out that housing space had long been misused for vacation homes or commercial spaces, or left vacant in anticipation of higher returns. Only recently have municipalities been able to act against this. The rental price brake for Dresden and Leipzig came late and is not sufficient because it allows for high rents and does not apply to new construction or furnished rooms. The number of social housing units has significantly decreased – from 134,000 housing units in 2006 to 12,500 in 2022. "Even now, when the construction industry is in crisis, there is no wise investment policy in sight. The funding guidelines are still too complicated, and there is a lack of funds."
Time for public investments in affordable housing
According to Nagel, it is high time for public investments to create affordable housing and advance energy-efficient renovations. Funding programs should primarily focus on areas where many people with low incomes live. "So far, the poorer the people are, the worse the energy efficiency of the building in which they live. Those who have the least money for heating should be the ones who receive the most help." To change this, the state must intervene in the housing market and provide stronger support to non-profit housing providers at the expense of private housing companies.
"We want to prefer municipal and community-oriented housing providers, such as cooperatives – for example, in the allocation of funding – and provide more funding for social housing construction," emphasized the Left politician. Social housing should remain social housing. A state-owned housing construction company should create affordable housing for the municipal housing companies. "We want to introduce an effective rental price brake and improve the termination protection for hardship terminations."
- Despite the poor performance of Juliane Nagel from The Left in Saxony's housing policy debate in Dresden, she advocated for the state government to maintain its involvement in the housing market to prevent displacement of lower-income residents.
- Nagel's party faced challenges in implementing minor housing policy initiatives proposed by Michael Kretschmer, the CDU's Minister President of Saxony.
- The politician highlighted the misuse of housing space in Saxony, such as conversion into vacation homes or commercial spaces, which has led to a scarcity of affordable housing and displacement of lower-income residents.
- To address the affordable housing crisis, Nagel called for increased public investments in housing and energy-efficient renovations, with a focus on areas with high concentrations of low-income residents.
- In a push for more social housing, Nagel suggested that the state prioritize funding for non-profit housing providers, like cooperatives, and establish a state-owned housing construction company to support municipal housing companies in providing affordable housing.
