Unachievable goal

When it took power in November 2021, Germany's Green-Red-Yellow coalition government set a target of building 400,000 new homes per year, with about 100,000 of these being social welfare or social housing.

However, according to Werena Rosenke, CEO of the German Association for the Support of the Homeless (BAG W), the German government will find it difficult to achieve its target, and even the modest figure of 100,000 social housing units is not enough to address the shortage of affordable housing. BAG W is the national umbrella organization for emergency housing support services in Germany. According to the organization's most recent data, there will be 607,000 homeless people in Germany in 2022, of whom about 50,000 will live on the streets.

Social housing means that landlords are subsidised by the government to rent apartments at a fixed price, well below market rates. In addition to social housing, Ms Rosenke said that 100,000 more affordable homes are needed. However, in recent years, only about 25,000 new affordable homes have been built, not enough to make up for the shortage of housing.

BAG W’s director said homelessness was a serious social problem and that the huge shortage of affordable housing was the reason for it. Ms Rosenke suggested some relatively low-cost solutions to homelessness, such as facilitating the purchase of homes from private owners or the housing market, or renovating emergency accommodation and converting it into social housing.

The German government has announced its intention to end homelessness in the country by 2030, with the help of an action plan that will be approved by the cabinet in early 2024. However, it could take years for the plan to be implemented by Germany's 16 states, cities and municipalities.

VIET LE

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/muc-tieu-kho-kha-thi-post720439.html