Hamburg's “Alliance for Housing” is here to fix the housing crisis

The city’s housing program will approve 10,000 units every year

The Hamburg Senate and the construction industry of the Hanseatic city forged a new “Alliance for Housing”, setting a target for 10,000 new housing units every year. At the same time, the Alliance will raise the amount of money it contributes to subsidised housing, from 30% to 35%.

Germany’s second-largest metropolis has been setting targets for residential construction since 2011. From 2016 onwards it has fulfilled its targets every year.

Hamburg – a green metropolis on the water

First Mayor Dr Peter Tschentscher claimed in a press release that the city’s housing program has approved the construction of 100,000 new apartments, 77,000 of which have already been completed so far.

“Housing construction is the best rent cap,” he stated while emphasising that no other city in Germany has dealt so well when it comes to the supply of living space.

Dr Dorothee Stapelfeldt, Senator for Urban Development and Housing pointed out that the subsidised housing program will provide a certain degree of security to lower-income citizens. 

The Alliance and its partners are committed to a couple of very important principles:

• Space efficient eco-friendly construction;
• New housing developments should go hand in hand with green and open spaces;
• Finally – affordability.

Social Senator Dr Melanie Leonhard stressed the fact that housing is not only a profits issue but also a social issue: “Many people want to live and work in Hamburg. Whether this is equally possible for everyone depends on the availability of good, affordable living space.”

Dr Thomas Krebs The CEO of SAGA, Hamburg's biggest social housing management firm with over 130,000 units spoke out about the issues proliferating in the housing market: “The Hamburg housing market remains tense and we can only remedy this by building new affordable apartments. 

The Alliance for Housing is a successful model of cooperative housing policy nationwide and will continue to make an important contribution to the Senate's successful supply policy in the field of new housing."