Wiesbaden fights against housing shortage: 2,500 new social housing should be created!

Wiesbaden fights against housing shortage: 2,500 new social housing should be created!

More and more Wiesbadeners are on the waiting list for social housing, while the range of affordable living space cannot keep up with demand. Currently, 3681 households in Wiesbaden are registered as visiting - an increase of 370 compared to the previous year. This presents the city with an immense challenge, especially since many people can no longer be registered due to the long waiting lists. It is estimated that even half of the Hessian population is entitled to a social housing. Urban politics hopes for support from the state government to provide 2500 vacant apartments in order to counter the critical situation FAZ.NET . .

The head of the apartment Patricia Becher (SPD) plans to keep more social housing in Wiesbaden and to build funded living space. A first step in this direction is the registration of 162 subsidized residential units in eight new construction projects for state funding programs in 2024. The number of subsidized apartments fell to 8515 in 2024, which is a worrying trend. In 2023 there were still 8706 of these apartments. Another point is that many new construction projects could be completed due to the construction crisis.

The challenges in housing construction

The reasons for the decline in social housing are diverse, with increasing construction costs a main reason. Professor Dietmar Walberg, head of the Kiel construction institute ARGE, indicates that social housing could also be built in good quality if construction costs were significantly reduced, possibly up to a third. Compliance with the applicable building regulations and the restrictions due to extensive funding programs make the situation more difficult for investors. These programs are often quickly overbooked, which leads to delays that are problematic for the construction industry Br.de .

In the context of the political discussion, different parties have formulated different solutions to relieve the housing shortage: the SPD calls for an indefinite rental brake, while the Union is striving to reduce building code and spatial planning law. The Greens want to extend the rental price brake to ensure better protection for tenants, while the FDP is pronounced to expire the rental price brake. Critics from the Pestel Institute complain that the parties' suggestions contribute little to relax the market and demand real change in housing construction. This housing shortage has already influenced the electorate in the Bundestag election Tageschau.de .

Rental prices rise in all price segments. In 2024, for example, a 60-square-meter apartment cost 650 euros cold in Berlin, 790 euros in Frankfurt and even 1,150 euros in Munich. It has become clear that in particular people with safe jobs, such as police officers and nurses, often receive cancellations in housing inquiries - a sign of the precarious situation on the housing market.