The state chairperson of the Sozialverband Deutschland (SoVD), Jutta Kühl, and her deputy, Sven Picker, together with the state chairperson of the Deutscher Mieterbund (DMB), Jochen Kiersch, and the managing director, Carsten Wendt, gave the starting signal for a popular initiative for affordable housing in Schleswig-Holstein at a press conference in the state house on Friday, 16 February. The aim is to anchor the right to affordable and adequate housing in the state constitution. From now on, both associations have one year to collect 20,000 signatures from citizens of Schleswig-Holstein and then hand them over to the president of the state parliament. Once the quorum has been met, the state parliament must address the concerns of the popular initiative.
Specifically, SoVD and DMB request that an article 13a be included in the state constitution. Wording:
Adequate housing
1) Everyone has the right to adequate housing. The Land shall promote the creation and maintenance of affordable housing, in particular through social housing measures, tenant protection and rent subsidies.
2) The eviction of a dwelling may only be enforced if substitute living space is available. When weighing up the interests, the importance of the dwelling for leading a dignified life shall be given special consideration."
The background to the popular initiative is the dramatic situation on the housing market in Schleswig-Holstein. The current stock of affordable housing is far too low. Of the former 220,000 publicly subsidised flats in Schleswig-Holstein, only about 47,000 remained in 2017. Homelessness is rising continuously. Currently, about 10,000 people in our federal state live without shelter - and the trend is rising rapidly.
SoVD and DMB support the inclusion of the state goal of affordable and adequate housing in the state constitution with concrete demands to improve the housing situation in Schleswig-Holstein:
- Additional construction of 8,000 affordable, subsidised flats per year.
- More barrier-free flats for senior citizens and people with disabilities
- Improvements to the so far largely ineffective rent brake
- No vacancy of residential and commercial premises by enacting a regulation on the misappropriation of property
- Promotion of new foundations of municipal housing associations with
Land funds.
Jutta Kühl said at the press conference: "As associations we cannot make laws, let alone enforce them. What we can do, however, is build political pressure. And here a popular initiative is the strongest instrument we have at our disposal. We hope that many people will support us with their signatures. The more signatures we collect, the greater the pressure on those politically responsible to finally act to alleviate the now untenable situation on the housing market."
Sven Picker focused specifically on the housing situation of people with disabilities: "The word inclusion is on everyone's lips at the moment. But when it comes to concrete steps in implementation, there are still great difficulties. This applies both to the labour market and increasingly to the housing market. Wheelchair users in particular have problems finding housing that is tailored to their needs and also affordable for smaller wallets. This urgently needs to be remedied." Jochen Kiersch said, "The problems on the housing market in Schleswig-Holstein are largely homemade. They are the direct result of the sale of municipal housing associations to yield-oriented financial investors, the deliberate reduction of the social housing stock and the far too low level of new construction. There was an obvious lack of foresight on the part of the housing politicians, because the consequences were foreseeable. With the inclusion of the right to adequate housing in the state constitution, housing policy gains a higher priority and this is urgently needed - also as an urgent reminder for more sustainability."
Carsten Wendt emphasised: "In view of the current development on the housing market, it is essential to give the good of adequate and affordable housing constitutional status. The number of affordable flats is rapidly decreasing, whereas the demand for such flats is constantly increasing, not least because of the ever-widening income gap. It is important to make clear how fundamental the need for adequate housing is for every individual".
Source: PM of DMB and SoVD of 16.2.2018
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