Kiel founds municipal housing company

The Kiel City Council will probably vote on the establishment of a municipal housing company on 19 September 2019. Initially, 1,000 apartments are to be built; in the long term, 4,000 new apartments are to be created.

The availability of affordable housing for people with low incomes is considerably limited, it said in justification. There was no sign of a change in the situation. A municipal housing company must enable the state capital to influence the housing market.

The Association of North German Housing Companies welcomed the decision of the council meeting. "The sale of KWG (Kieler Wohnungsbaugesellschaft) at the time is a creeping poison for Kiel's housing market that is having its full effect today, 18 years after the sale," said Association Director Andreas Breitner. "The city currently has little direct influence on the city's structural development and on creating much-needed affordable housing." It is good that the city is now correcting its mistake.