Göttingen calls for new laws: tenant protection against housing shortages!

Göttingen calls for new laws: tenant protection against housing shortages!

Today, on August 12, 2025, Göttingen's Mayor Petra Broistedt presented clear demands for the further development of the Lower Saxony Housing Protection Act (NWoSchG) at a special meeting of the Social Committee. This initiative aims to give municipalities the opportunity to address precarious housing conditions more effectively. Broistedt particularly emphasizes that the legal framework needs to be changed in order to be able to intervene more quickly and specifically against unacceptable living situations and thus curb the business model of problem properties.

The Lower Saxony Housing Protection Act came into force on March 24, 2021 and aims to ensure tenant protection and prevent grievances and overcrowding. The areas of application include rental apartments and accommodation for employees that are used for longer than three months. Authorized persons must ensure that accommodation is health-friendly and adequately equipped so that residents can live in humane conditions. This includes adequate light sources, heating, sanitary facilities and sufficient living space of at least ten square meters per person, such as Lower Saxony reported.

Demands for more protection

Given the current need for action, the city of Göttingen has developed its own concept since 2022 to support people in difficult housing situations. Their list of demands includes, among other things, capping rent levels in order to guarantee fair prices per square meter. In addition, municipalities should be given the opportunity to enforce rent reductions for households that rely on social benefits and to cancel the assumption of costs for problematic accommodation. The clarification of responsibilities and the assumption of costs for replacement living space in the case of uninhabitable apartments are also on the list Göttingen.

Anja Krause, head of the Göttingen social department, emphasizes how important these expanded options for intervention are in order to be able to effectively combat the problems in housing supply. With the help of targeted interventions, the city wants to sustainably improve the living situation of those affected and combat the abuse of social benefits. However, the legal limits that have been set for the city to date make it difficult to find a lasting solution to unacceptable living conditions.

The role of trade unions

In addition to the legislative efforts, the German Federation of Trade Unions (DGB) is also speaking out. Dr. Mehrdad Payandeh, chairman of the DGB Lower Saxony, welcomes the existing law, but sees a need for further improvements. He particularly emphasizes the need for municipalities to take active action in the event of known grievances. The DGB demands that the control of living space becomes a mandatory task for municipalities, also in order to improve the living and housing conditions of employees, for example in slaughterhouse accommodation. These demands become all the more urgent given the experiences during the Corona pandemic, which have shown how important an appropriate housing situation is DGB Lower Saxony reported.

The city of Göttingen and the trade unions are working together to ensure that more effective regulations are introduced to offer residents in precarious housing conditions the necessary protection and support. It remains to be seen how the demands can be implemented in the political discussion and what impact they will have on the housing market.