26
GERMANY
ISSUE
I
POLITICS
code and a shift in the federal govern-
ment’s property policy towards a new ori-
entation of energy policy: focusing less
on energy and more on CO2. This must
also apply to the granting of loans by the
KfW– the central issuemust be howmuch
CO2 a building consumes, according to
the Green Party spokesman.
Like his colleagues in other factions,
Kühn takes a similar view of demands
from the housing industry for an inde-
pendent constructionministry and feels it
is secondary: Valuable time would be lost
reclassifying employees and tasks, he says.
CDU’s Marie-Luise Dött also finds it
more important for the offices involved
with construction and housing policy to
be divided equally among the coalition
partners – this is the only way that genuine
compromises can be negotiated, she says.
STANDSTILL UNTIL SEPTEMBER – EYES ON
THE STATE OF BERLIN
Federal politicians
have recently been able to observe in Ber-
lin what form left-wing urban develop-
ment policy can take when the left-wing
politician Katrin Lompscher took over
the building department after the elec-
estate loans. The only result of the months
of negotiations of the Alliance for Con-
struction and Housing is the creation of
a new type of urban area making it easier
to build in city centers. The question of
how to support families in construction
and housing is likely to be carried over
into the election campaign – various pro-
posals are on the table, from the subsidy
proposed by the Federal Minister of Con-
struction to the CDU variant of govern-
ment grant scheme to support families
building homes or allowances in the real
estate transfer tax.
REACTIONS
How is the real estate industry
reacting? It’s calling for a swift response.
However, the associations do not really
seem concerned about the prospects for
the construction industry in 2017: Accord-
ing to the Institute for Economic Research
(IW), the order situation hasn’t been this
good in 20 years. And as long as construc-
tion remains strong, the other sectors
related to construction will also benefit –
regardless of political programs.
tion. Despite the resignation of their des-
ignated Secretary of State, Andrej Holm,
the number of critics of gentrification in
Berlin is growing after the Grand Coali-
tion for a long time just watched while
rents skyrocketed and prices for building
land exploded. After reunification state
governments sold a large part of their
land, making active property policy rath-
er difficult. The so-called Red-Red-Green
Coalition now wants stricter rent controls
and tomake it impossible to convert rental
housing into condominiums. Accordingly
representatives frombusiness and associa-
tions are reacting with great concern, con-
servative politicians even suspect a viola-
tion of the state constitution (in which the
promotion of property ownership is laid
down) – and thus providing a clear indi-
cation that housing policy also serves as a
major election issue on the federal level.
UPSHOT
As a result, in the coming months
politicians will more likely be devoting
their energy to the programs than the
design: The coalition agreement has been
completed; the cabinet has made improve-
ments to the regulations on residential real
«
Kristina Pezzei, Berlin
Photos: aurence Chaperon_Creative Commons; Anke Illing; spdfraktion.de
WHAT ARE THE HOUSING POLICY SPOKESPERSONS IN FAVOR OF?
“Straight-line tax
deductions of
three percent.“
Marie-Luise Dött,
Construction Policy Spokes-
woman for the CDU/CSU
Bundestag Faction
“A five billion euro
program in the form
of grants or tax ben-
efits for energy effi-
cient renovations.“
Caren Lay,
Construction Policy Spokeswom-
an for the Left Party Bundestag
Faction
“A model in which
the state sets up the
framework for the
living situation of its
citizens and promotes
grants for prospective
homeowners.“
Michael Groß,
Construction Policy Spokesman
for the SPD Bundestag Faction
“For a new kind of
residential commu-
nity without bloat-
ed administrative
structures and lack
of transparency.“
Chris Kühn,
Construction Policy Spokesman
for the Green Party
