Emigration, deaths and fewer births: Saxony-Anhalt is shrinking. Municipal housing providers are also noticing this. In some regions, a particularly large amount of housing is empty.
Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - Municipal apartments are often cheap, but the demographic development ensures a high vacancy rate in Saxony-Anhalt. Nationwide, around 14.4 percent of the apartments owned by municipal companies are uninhabited, as the Association of the Housing Industry (VdW) Saxony-Anhalt announced on request. "In the area of municipal companies, the vacancy rate is increasing unabated, especially in rural areas," said association director Jens Zillmann.
However, most of the unrented apartments are in the city of Dessau-Roßlau. There, 2,788 of the 8,059 municipal rental apartments are empty (34.6 percent). This is followed by the district of Jerichower Land with around 24.5 percent vacancies and the Burgenland district with 20.9 percent. Most residential units from municipal companies are in Halle and Magdeburg. The vacancy rate is also lowest there. In Halle the rate is 7.2 percent and in Magdeburg 10.1 percent.
According to Zillmann, the population is falling continuously due to demographic reasons. As a result, there is less demand and apartments are empty. Another reason for vacancies is the degree of modernization of the apartments. "Only contemporary and modern living space can be rented," says Zillmann. However, many companies did not have the means to make this living space attractive. The head of the association therefore called for "determined action by those responsible for politics at federal and state level".
The Saxony-Anhalt Housing Industry Association was founded in 1990 and represents the interests of around 78 municipal housing companies in the state. According to the information, the companies have more than 156,000 residential units. According to the VdW, there is no information on the vacancy rate for almost 7,000 of the apartments.
