housing shortage - Planned Learning Allowance law meets divided echo
The Hessian state government's planned law against speculative vacancy faces criticism from the opposition in the Landtag and the economy. According to voices from business associations, many questions are still open, and vacancy is not the most pressing issue in the fight against housing shortages.
Hessian Economy Minister Kaweh Mansoori (SPD) advocated for the project in the Landtag. "If we had agreed on this in the coalition, I am happy that I can present the draft to you still this year," he said in Wiesbaden. "The vacancy law is there to bring apartments back into the market." Of course, it is "not the goose that lays the golden eggs," Mansoori said. But it is part of an overall strategy against housing shortages.
Vacancy to be restricted for six months
According to the Minister, there are 120,000 vacant apartments in Hesse, with 13,000 in Frankfurt alone. No one denies that there are various reasons for vacancy, such as changes in tenants or renovations.
However, thousands of apartments remain where we cannot explain the vacancy. And for this vacancy, we are bringing the vacancy law into effect," Mansoori announced an "equitable" regulation that restricts vacancy for six months.
Speculative vacancy is the extreme exception
The Vice President of the Hessian Association of Entrepreneurs, Thomas Reimann, expressed concerns that according to statistics, around 122,000 apartments were vacant in Hesse in mid-2022. Many of them had been available again within three months or had had justifiable reasons for the vacancy, such as renovations.
"Speculative vacancy is the extreme exception on the housing market," Reimann added. Entrepreneurs would welcome it if no additional regulatory measures were taken. "A possible vacancy law should in no way lead to delays in housing renovation or the sale of a home due to extensive reporting requirements."
"Who will control it?"
The Vice President of the Hessian Industry and Commerce Chamber, Ulrich Caspar, warned in a statement: "Companies in Hesse need labor and skilled workers, and they need housing." In the face of dramatically declining construction activities, the state government must move many levers to create more housing.
The announced vacancy law against speculative vacancy will not help with this. At first glance, it may seem reasonable, but there are many unanswered questions, Caspar complained. "How many apartments does it actually concern? What does speculative vacancy mean? Who will control it? How much additional bureaucracy will housing owners have to deal with?"
Alternative demand: Revive the construction industry
Criticism also came from FDP fraction leader Stefan Naas: "The Social Democrats are wrong if they think vacancy is a problem." A certain vacancy is even necessary, so that people can move, he explained. With a vacancy rate of four percent, Hesse is in the optimal range.
Instead of intervening in private property, creating more bureaucracy, and making housing construction even less attractive, the state government should revive the construction industry, Naas demanded. "The problem is not the empty apartments, but the housing shortage."
The housing policy spokesperson for the AfD faction, Dimitri Schulz, stated that the reasons for high rental and real estate prices are not market-driven vacancy, but "mainly the artificial increase in new construction and renovation through ideologically driven climate measures, bureaucracy, and an over-regulated building order".
Martina Feldmayer, spokesperson for Housing for the Green faction, criticized that the state government is exchanging the vacancy law for other effective measures for rent protection.
As an example, she mentioned the conversion reserve, which is now being abolished. According to this regulation, municipalities can deny consent for the conversion of rental apartments into owner-occupied apartments. The special protection against termination, if a housing unit was converted, also wants to be abolished by the state government.
- Despite the criticism from the opposition and the economy, the Hessian State government is determined to implement the law aimed at tackling speculative vacancy in the state's Real Estate market, with Frankfurt having 13,000 vacant apartments alone.
- The Standstill in the implementation of the new law has not stopped Hesse's Economy Minister, Kaweh Mansoori, from advocating for the project in the State parliament, stressing that the law is part of an overall strategy against housing shortages.
- In an attempt to address the issue of long-term vacancy in Hesse, which according to statistics was around 120,000 in mid-2022, the state government plans to implement an equitable regulation that restricts vacancy for six months in affected properties.
- Ulrich Caspar, Vice President of the Hessian Industry and Commerce Chamber, expressed concerns about the potential impact of the new vacancy law on the state's economy, warning that it may lead to delays in housing renovation and the sale of homes due to extensive reporting requirements.
