More and more households in Germany are suffering from high rent costs. Some even spend more than 40 percent of their income on rent. This development is the result of a study by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW). The study also reports a significant increase in rent burdens since 1991. The proportion of overburdened households has increased from 5% to 14% by 2021.
The number of social housing units has fallen sharply over the same period, making access to affordable housing even more difficult. DIW researchers emphasize that housing is increasingly becoming a social issue, especially in large cities where rents are particularly high.
There is no simple solution to the problem of rising rents. DIW researcher Konstantin Kholodilin takes a critical view of the rent freeze and instead proposes a mix of different political measures to improve the situation. These include more scope for decision-making at local authority level.
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