Tenants in Eberswalde fight for affordable living space: city villa in danger!

Tenants in Eberswalde fight for affordable living space: city villa in danger!

in Eberswalde, a city in the Barnim district, tenants have joined together to take rising rental prices. The debate about a city villa on Danckelmannstrasse, which is to be sold by the WHG, a municipal housing company, is particularly heated. But the sale not only has economic dimensions, but also a strong social component. RBB24 reports that the tenants, including students and scientists, fear that they are displaced after a renovation of the house. Your solution? The joint purchase of the property by a newly founded association and a GmbH that aims to keep rents below ten euros per square meter.

With a purchase price of around one million euros, money now has to be collected. The tenants rely on direct loans from friends and family as a contribution, while the WHG boss Henrik Hundertmark supports the sale to further invest in other projects and to promote the diversity in Eberswalde. Social housing is taking a new turn here, because the rental prices in the city could rise to around 15 euros per square meter without the purchase.

Support from the Mietshäuser Syndikat

The “Mietshäuser Syndikat”, which promotes projects nationwide, plays an important role in this project that is based on the joint acquisition of real estate. In Brandenburg, the syndicate is already active on 21 projects and accompanies the tenants in Eberswalde, but without financial support. The structure is clear: the property of the buildings lies with the GmbH, in which both the house association and the syndicate are shareholders. Syndicate protects these joint projects through defined rules that offer absolute protection from an enemy takeover.

Another advantage of this type of living is that tenants are usually their own landlords here. This means that rents are kept permanently cheap because there are no profit -based interests in the game. In Eberswalde, the current new contract rents are around eight euros cold per square meter, which is good news compared to the high prices on the free housing market.

The housing market in Germany

The signs on the German housing market are on storm. According to the Tagesschau, rents reach record heights, while high interest rates ensure a price shock. In contrast, communal residential projects, such as those in Eberswalde, enable self -determined living and offer a real alternative to the common models in which external landlords dictate prices.

The current construction crisis with exploding costs and interest rates additionally adds the projects. While some new construction projects have already been abandoned, the existing models such as the Mietshäuser syndicate show a way to withstand rents even in times of crisis. In the long term, rental prices in these joint projects should remain more stable, which is particularly important for many Eberswalder, which are dependent on affordable housing. In Eberswalde it remains to be seen whether the tenants get the necessary amount together and their concept becomes a reality. But they have already achieved something: a strong sense of community and the courage to fight for their living situation.