© dpa
For the first time in many years, Berlin has reached the 5,000 mark for approvals for the construction of subsidized housing.
In 2024, applications for almost 5,100 apartments had been approved, Building Senator Christian Gaebler told the German Press Agency. In the previous year, there were 3,492 and in 2022 only 1,935.
"This is also due to the economic framework conditions and the fact that more people from the housing industry are taking advantage of the funding, who would have previously said we didn't want to have price-controlled apartments," explained Gaebler."We benefit from this development in two ways: as a rule, the private companies later hand over the price-controlled apartments to municipal housing companies," said the SPD politician. "This means that, firstly, we have more subsidized housing and, secondly, more apartments with municipal companies that we would otherwise not have been able to get hold of."
One would have to see how this develops in the future. "We will also have to see what we do when we have more applications than we have funding available," said Gaebler. "That is not yet the case, but if the trend continues, it could happen in the next few years. Then the question arises as to where we set our priorities." "Of course, we want to realize as many apartments as possible. That means we would then have to promote more projects with a lower proportion of social housing," explained the senator. "On the other hand, it is particularly important for municipal companies with relatively tight rental targets to occasionally be able to realize more than 50 percent." This would then have to be weighed up.
In view of the increasing housing shortage, Berlin returned to promoting subsidized housing construction in 2014. The number of approved applications from 2024 is the highest since then. The black-red Senate has set itself the target of 5,000 apartments per year to compensate for the loss of subsidized housing after the social commitment expires. At the end of 2023, Berlin still had 99,849 subsidized housing units, compared to 104,757 the year before. The number has fallen rapidly over the past 25 years, while rents have risen significantly. The social commitment in Berlin is limited to 30 years.
Developers receive a state subsidy if they create subsidized housing. They must then offer the housing in Berlin at a rent of €6.50 to €11.5 per square meter. According to data from Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB), 21,064 subsidized apartments were approved between 2014 and 2023, of which a total of 12,407 were completed by the end of 2023. The approved funding volume for 2023 amounted to 717 million euros. The data for 2024 is not yet available.