With Horst Hartmann, the main initiators of the citizens' petition "Pro municipal housing association", SPD city chairwoman Patricia Steinberger, SPD parliamentary group chairwoman Anja König and city councilor Gerd Steinberger were able to win over a successful practitioner of municipal social housing for an information evening, which took place last Friday at the Hotel Michel. This is because the city of Kelheim founded its own housing company last year, which has already completed the first social housing units. In the latest social housing project on Starenstrasse, the first social housing units were recently ready for occupancy, with rents of around 5.50 euros per square meter.
With a whole cascade of the best arguments, Kelheim Mayor Horst Hartmann justified why every city is well advised to set the course for more affordable housing by establishing its own housing company. The city could create additional housing, especially for lower and middle incomes, which would also be available to future generations. The advantage works thereby not only for the future tenants and users of the again built social dwellings. Because the new housing stock dampens the development of rents in general. Against this background, the referendum initiated by the SPD Landshut for the foundation of a municipal housing association can only be welcomed.
Councillor Gerd Steinberger presented the current situation, the omissions in the municipality and in particular the demands of the SPD parliamentary group. "The free market has given us a rent increase of almost 50% in the past 8 years, these are the facts. And for every affordable apartment there are 80-100 interested parties."This is not a condition, in which Landshut may continue to be, he made clear with clear words to the citizens' petition and the demand for affordable housing for the population.
The extremely low level of social housing in municipal hands (250 apartments), the inability to act of the already existing cooperatives in Landshut and the difficult situation in the municipal budget, can therefore not provide for an easing in the housing market. In addition, many apartments also fall out of the social commitment, which leads to a further reduction in affordable housing and ensures an increase in the rent index.
Gerd Steinberger made attentive also to the gifts of the Landshuter city council, which 10 hectares building site in the Ochsenau, for läppische 150 €/sqm to the Free State for the green center ceded. Against the majority in the city council the SPD could not prevail unfortunately and thus the surface, which possesses a value of at least 60,00 million euro, for straight once 15 million was frittered away. A huge loss in the form of reduced revenue for the municipal budget and trade tax revenue for the future there is also not.
The exemplary activities locally could not compensate the missing social housing construction in Bavaria freely, so the SPD Landtagskandidat Harald Unfried. In particular, the Free State would be required, with its own housing company itself at least 50.000 social housing units to be created in the coming legislative period. In addition, the Free State would have to give its land at a discount to those municipalities and cooperatives that use it for social housing. For it also the legal basic conditions must be changed, so that for instance also the districts can operate social housing construction, so Unfried.
Afterwards, the SPD faction leader, city councilor Anja König, presented how the city of Bamberg, through the creation of a municipal housing association, became the proud owner of 4.000 apartments, playing a central role in Bamberg's real estate market and thus ensuring affordable housing for its residents.
A lively discussion followed and the speakers answered questions from the audience. Of course the debt question could not be missing. But also this was clarified descriptively. Because the eternal objection that one has then again a mountain full of debts and how one wants to pay all this, is deeply anchored in the heads of the people and provides again and again for skepticism.
Explanation to the debt question:
If one takes up a mortgage, the repayment, thus the financing is secured by the fact that one prepares a solid and thought out financing plan. Without this one gets anyway no credit for such a project. That one then the tenants, speak the actual financiers of the project will run out, is rather less probable. Thus (rent) income is secured.
Also nobody is "indebted. Because the debts must always be seen in relation to the assets and not to the current income. Measured against its current income would be each house builder with an asset of 0.00 € and annual salary in the amount of 50.000 € and 500.000 € borrowing broke. Therefore always the fortune must be set in relation.
In this case that is 500.000 € credit on the debt side and a property worth 500.000 € on the asset side. The debts are offset by a property. Thus, my personal asset situation has not changed, it is still € 0.00. The only difference is that now you live in a house with a garden and you have to spend part of your income to repay it. Nothing else takes place with a municipal housing association. Only that it may be with a city like Landshut gladly times 50 million, which offers by promotion pots and available properties (Ochsenau), as well as very small credit financing costs (low-interest phase) to humans the possibility of receiving affordable dwelling. As a result, residents have more net from net and can treat themselves and spend more locally.
Thus, it is not only affordable housing for all, but there are positive synergy effects for the retail (economic stimulus package), which in turn provides a positive effect on the urban revenue side and also creates real estate values for the city. "This is what solid, far-sighted and above all economic financial policy looks like at the SPD in Landshut.", all agreed in the end.