Insufficient supply of social housing in Rhineland-Palatinate increases demand
Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in western Germany, is grappling with a persistent shortage of affordable housing, despite efforts to increase funding and construct more social housing units.
In a bid to alleviate the issue, the state government has doubled its funding for social housing in the 2025/26 budget, allocating a total of 700 million euros. However, Adalbert Fettweiß, of the Association of Rhineland-Palatinate Housing Companies, admits that it is not profitable for companies to invest in properties requiring renovation to meet modern standards.
The main challenge lies not in new construction but the renovation of existing apartments that no longer meet today's standards. Fettweiss suggests concessions in standards such as building law, sound protection, barrier-free access, and climate protection to make apartments more affordable.
The recent revision of the state building code, passed by the state parliament, has partially implemented these suggestions. Yet, Andreas Hartenfels, a BSW parliamentarian, is dissatisfied with the effect of the increased funding. He believes more needs to be done to bridge the gap between additional costs for regulations like barrier-free access or energy efficiency and achievable rents.
Despite the efforts, there will still be a shortage of affordable housing in the future. The Petzel Institute calculated that Rhineland-Palatinate is short of around 28,000 social housing units and, if construction is not accelerated, there will be a shortage of 30,000 apartments by 2030.
In the meantime, lower-income groups, refugees, and benefit recipients face difficulties in finding mold-free housing. In the entire previous year, the state built 1,800 social housing units, with 1,253 supported by the state in the first half of 2025.
The Association of Free Welfare Organizations in Rhineland-Palatinate has a positive interim conclusion about the new construction of social housing. However, they too acknowledge the conflict between modern standards and affordable housing.
The CDU faction criticizes the state government for lack of ambition in housing policy. People often have no choice but to move into such apartments because better ones are too expensive. In Rhineland-Palatinate, approximately 14,500 social housing units need to be built between 2023 and 2030 to address the foreseeable housing shortage.
There have been long processing times for funding applications at the state-owned funding bank ISB, but it should now be faster again. Despite the challenges, Adalbert Fettweiß of the Association of Rhineland-Palatinate Housing Companies finds the intention and direction of those responsible in housing policy to be correct.
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