Offenbach foregoes sales for affordable housing

• fromEast Tinç

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A ten-year plan of the city of Offenbach keeps 824 apartments of the GBO in social connection. Lord Mayor Felix Schwenke speaks of a “historic decision”.

For decades there has been a clear trend throughout the Federal Republic of Germany: the proportion of publicly funded apartments is falling massively. The city of Offenbach now wants to counteract this. On Wednesday the magistrate decided on a ten-year plan to keep 824 apartments of the non-profit construction company Offenbach (GBO) in social connection. The municipal utility subsidiary will forego around four to five million euros in sales in the years 2030 to 2035 alone. The city finances these grants from the misbooking tax, the state has its own programs to extend the commitment.

“Without this decision, these apartments would no longer be available at the affordable prices of public funding,” said Mayor Felix Schwenke (SPD). He spoke of a “historic decision” that he had campaigned for since he took office in January 2018.

That the Tanzania coalition now adorns itself with the laurels of the resolution, Schwenke only asked a smile yesterday. “Formally, of course, they had to agree. That’s right, ”said Schwenke. “Without our having worked this out, however, this decision wouldn’t exist.”

Stabilize the number of subsidized apartments

By this the mayor meant himself and Annette Schroeder-Rupp, the managing director of the GBO, whom he had commissioned to find ways to stabilize the number of subsidized apartments. “That was a laborious task and we worked out three building blocks for it,” said Schroeder-Rupp.

In the first module, 287 apartments, for which the potential for rent increases would have been low, are kept in the bond. The public subsidies for these apartments are 80 cents a month per square meter of living space. “In the second module we are buying occupancy rights to 204 apartments,” continued Schroeder-Rupp. These would be taken as replacements for apartments that will fall out of bond in the coming years. Here, the company looked around in areas where the rent increases would not be “so blatant”, according to the GBO managing director. After all, the apartments would have to be renovated and maintained. In the third module, the binding of 371 apartments will be extended through modernization with public funds.

The number of social housing in Offenbach fell from 5350 in 2000 to 3731 in 2019. At the same time, there are 62,000 apartments, almost 3,000 more than 19 years ago. Therefore, Felix Schwenke wants to set up another ten-year plan. “We have been working on this for a long time,” emphasized the Social Democrat. With the current decision, a floor has been drawn into the barrel on which it can now be built.

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