IM. Sc. Isabelle Adolphs née Klein

Land policy control instruments and their effect on the supply of low-cost rented housing to threshold households

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Demographic and Social Change
How do people live in Germany? How do social changes such as demographic change affect the housing market?
The social structure in Germany has changed considerably in recent decades. Less, older, more colourful – these three words often summarise Germany's demographic development. The term "less" is used to describe the forecast population decline. "Older" stands for the shift in the population pyramid due to increasing life expectancy and declining birth rates. The term "colourful" describes the increasing internationalisation of the German population. However, population development is very heterogeneous in some areas. In contrast to many rural regions, large cities in particular are once again recording rising population figures. As the population grows, so does the demand for housing in urban areas. As a result, rents are rising sharply and low-income households are being displaced into less frequented residential areas (e.g. on the outskirts of cities).

Housing Shortage in Major German Cities
Rental prices can be used to determine in which major German cities there is particularly high pressure on the housing market: The four most expensive cities (> 500,000 inhabitants) in the 4th quarter of 2014 were Munich (14.51 Euro per sqm), Stuttgart (11.82 Euro per sqm), Frankfurt a. M. (Germany) and the Netherlands (Germany). (11.81 Euro per sqm) and Hamburg (Euro per sqm) – trend rising (Statista 2015). At such average rents, even working sections of the population (e.g. key workers) are no longer in a position to provide themselves with adequate living space in residential areas close to the city centre on their own. The cities are called upon to provide their inhabitants with sufficient living space at reasonable prices. But the Federal Government and the Federal States also have possibilities to regulate the tense housing markets.

Research Gaps for Land Management
But what instruments are available at the different levels and how well are they suited to solving the existing problems? What is the impact of public intervention on the private sector? How can private and public interests be reconciled? How can the construction of new dwellings be stimulated, which is also made available to low-income households? Which subsidies and grants are appropriate? How can the decline in occupancy-based housing be counteracted? How can increasing gentrification/segregation be counteracted? These and other research questions will be answered in the course of the project. In particular, selected methods of empirical social research and the analysis of statistical data will be applied.