Struggles with Renting Properties in the Saxony Region

In the heart of Saxony, the city of Riesa is grappling with twin challenges: a struggling job market and high vacancy rates in its housing sector. With many factories either closing down or significantly reducing their workforce, the city's population has dwindled from 50,000 to 29,000 since 1990. This demographic shift has left a significant number of apartments vacant, with the Riesa Housing Cooperative reporting that every tenth apartment in their portfolio currently sits empty.

The Riesa Housing Cooperative, however, is taking proactive steps to address this issue. They are offering dozens of free apartments for rent, and have even renovated a GDR-era high-rise, converting the top two floors into modern maisonette apartments. These spacious five-room apartments, totalling 120 square meters, boast two bathrooms and two balconies, and are available for rent at a remarkably low 6 euros per square meter.

This affordable rent is a welcome relief in a region where the average cold rent outside major cities is 5.62 euros per square meter, the lowest in any federal state. The average rent in the Riesa Housing Cooperative is even lower at 4.99 euros per square meter.

However, maintaining these low rents comes at a cost. The cooperative spends a significant amount on operating costs for the empty apartments, amounting to 103 million euros per year in Saxony alone. For landlords, empty housing costs around 50 cents per square meter.

To combat these high vacancy rates, particularly in rural regions, support measures are needed. The coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD aims to build 400,000 new homes every year, with a focus on supporting smaller and medium-sized towns in eastern Germany to help reduce these high vacancy rates.

The Riesa Housing Cooperative is also facing challenges in meeting the requirements for climate neutrality by 2045. The costs for modernizing an apartment, including barrier-free modifications and climate neutral renovations, can amount to up to 50,000 euros. In Saxony, Thuringia, and Saxony-Anhalt, there are currently 95,000 empty apartments, and the cooperative would have to spend 17 billion euros to meet these requirements without federal funding.

There is a debate among municipal and cooperative landlords about whether and to what extent rents can be increased to cover these costs. Subtracting all running costs leaves only a surplus of two cents per square meter in Saxony, highlighting the financial challenges faced by housing cooperatives.

Despite these challenges, the Riesa Housing Cooperative continues to strive for affordability and sustainability, offering modern, affordable housing to its residents, many of whom are seniors, with an average age of 64. The cooperative has also demonstrated a commitment to renovating and repurposing its existing buildings, rather than demolishing them, as they did with nearly 1,000 of their original 4,300 apartments since 1990.

In conclusion, the Riesa Housing Cooperative's approach offers a promising model for addressing housing vacancy and affordability issues in rural regions. By offering affordable housing, renovating existing buildings, and advocating for support from the federal government, the cooperative is making a significant contribution to improving the living conditions in Riesa.