(de-news.net) – Rent increases and building costs are putting a strain on tenants and reducing the supply of affordable housing, which is aggravating Germany’s housing crisis. While the German Tenants’ Association is advocating for more social housing, stricter rent controls, and land cost containment measures, the CDU/CSU supports simpler construction to highten supply.
The CDU/CSU parliamentary group has urged the SPD-led ministries responsible for justice and construction to move quickly on legislation for the proposed “Building Type E,” as rising rents continue to put pressure on households. Jan-Marco Luczak, the Union’s spokesperson for housing and construction, argued that the housing market should not be shaped by increasingly costly requirements and that simpler, less expensive construction should instead become more commonplace. In his view, easing selected technical and bureaucratic requirements could help interrupt the cycle in which tighter standards contribute to higher construction costs. The proposed Building Type E is intended to make less complex projects easier and more affordable by dispensing with highly specific requirements that can add to the cost and complexity of construction.
Luczak also rejected repeated calls for a nationwide rent freeze, describing such a policy as reckless and warning that it could further discourage the construction of new homes. The consequences, he argued, would ultimately be felt by the hundreds of thousands of people already searching for affordable housing, as restrictions on rents could do little to address the underlying shortage of homes. In the longer term, he maintained, rising rents could only be brought under control by significantly expanding the supply of reasonably priced housing. That approach places new construction at the center of the Union’s argument for addressing rent pressures.
The German Tenants’ Association (DMB) has highlighted the extent of the financial strain facing tenants. Its 2026 rent report found that 29 percent of respondents were concerned they might no longer be able to pay their rent, while 58 percent said their housing expenses had increased during the preceding year. About half also expressed concern that, if they needed to move, they would be unable to find a reasonably priced replacement residence. Rising housing costs are already affecting household spending patterns, with many tenants reducing expenditures on leisure activities, travel, clothing, furniture and household appliances. The report combined official statistics and recent academic research with a representative survey of more than 1,000 tenants, providing a broader picture of how housing costs are affecting everyday finances.
Tenants’ group urges more social housing, tighter land-cost controls
The DMB warned that the housing crisis was increasingly becoming a broader crisis for the welfare state. Housing costs are weighing on both low-income households and the middle class, while tenants under financial pressure have less room to accumulate savings or prepare for retirement. According to the report, some households are cutting spending even on nutritious food and prescription medications as they try to manage rising housing expenses. Melanie Weber-Moritz, the DMB president, argued that the welfare system was being required with increasing frequency to compensate for shortcomings in the housing market. The concern, therefore, extends beyond rent levels themselves to the wider financial security of households.
The Federal Government’s rental-law measures, approved by the Cabinet in April, were welcomed by the association, but the DMB considers them insufficient to ease fears about further cost increases and the possibility of losing housing. The association is calling for tougher enforcement against exorbitant rents, a temporary nationwide rent freeze and fines for landlords who violate rent-control rules. The existing rent brake applies only in designated areas with tight housing markets. There, initial rents for new leases generally may not exceed the local comparative rent by more than 10 percent. The measure is therefore limited in geographic scope and does not apply uniformly across Germany.
The DMB says Germany’s social-housing stock has fallen to a record low while the country faces a shortage of about 1.4 million homes. Against that backdrop, the association is calling for a fundamental change in housing and social policy. Its goals include the development of two million social housing units by 2030, compared with the current total of just over one million. In addition, at least 60,000 more reasonably priced rental properties for average-income households would be needed each year. The scale of those targets reflects the association’s view that the existing supply is insufficient to meet demand, particularly for households that cannot afford rents at prevailing market levels.
Weber-Moritz said new construction alone would not be enough to meet those goals. Alongside new development and government purchases, she argued that existing housing should also be acquired and converted into social housing, thereby expanding the supply without relying exclusively on new projects. She acknowledged that construction costs had risen significantly but maintained that one of the principal drivers could be addressed through more sustainable land policy and tighter regulation of land prices. The DMB has therefore advocated a cap on land costs as part of a broader effort to improve housing affordability. Taken together, the proposals reflect the association’s emphasis on both expanding and preserving affordable housing while limiting the cost pressures that have made construction and renting increasingly difficult.
