2.4 / Hamburg

In Hamburg on the other hand, everything seems better: more than 10,000 new flats every year. A convincing answer to the housing shortage! Unfortunately however, appearances are deceptive. 80% of new buildings are expensive condominiums and rental flats. At the same time, year after year more flats drop out of the social housing scheme than are built. 380,000 households are entitled to social housing.  Most of them wait in vain. Against this background, there is now a petition for a referendum with the aim of keeping urban land in municipal hands. It demands: "Keep land and housing. Make Hamburg socially responsible". The initiative, which is supported by tenants' associations, wants to achieve that the city only grants flats and land with hereditary building rights (renting for a limited period of time). The aim is to provide social housing with permanently affordable rents.

2.4.1 / Hamburg / St. Georg

The district of St. Georg is now a hip inner-city part of Hamburg. Tourists make themselves comfortable in the cafés under outdoor heaters. They don't know that two out of  three days people lose their flats here through eviction: Michael lives in Danziger Street with his daughter Nora in a 45m² flat. A rent increase to €1,149 outrages him. He has just lost his job due to Covid 19. The landlord, the international real estate company Akelius, has turned down his request to suspend the rent increase. When Michael defaults on the rent out of desperation, he is first given notice and then evicted. On the night of the eviction, they find accommodation across the street at Nora's best friend's house. The task force arrives at 5am. Shortly afterwards, the sound of the door of the flat being broken open. An hour later, their belongings are on the pavement.

But how is it possible for Akelius to charge €1,149 for 45 m² despite the rent brake? The tenants' association gives the answer: modernization. A new bathroom or energy-efficient windows are enough to justify doubling the rent. Akelius seems to be one of the most aggressive companies in this sector. Even the United Nations has reprimanded the company for this. The group's motto is – Better living.

2.4.2 / Hamburg / Rent control brake

Housing researcher Christoph Trautvetter has systematically evaluated modernization: "The problem is the type of modernization. It is not based on the needs of the tenants but on the needs of the landlord. A new bathroom, even though the old one is still fine. This is the kind of modernization that the landlord needs to increase rents to the maximum." Between July and September 2020, 326 households are evicted in Hamburg -- 62 of them in St. Georg. Akelius, a trust based in the Bahamas, expects a return of 6% in 2020.