Action Alliance against Housing Shortage and Urban Degradation, Newsletter 133
Rally against vacancy and gentrification
15.04.2023, 11 a.m., Rosenstr.7-9, 50678 Cologne, Germany
The owner of the house Rosenstr.7-9 was forbidden to turn six apartments into three. The Express reported on February 24, 2022: “Apparently, the structural changes were carried out illegally despite the rejection of the building application. The building inspection office determined in January 2021 that building and statute law had been deliberately violated and that unlawful faits accomplis had been created, for which the builder had now subsequently applied for legalization.”
https://www.express.de/koeln/wohnungen-in-koeln-wut-ueber-leerstehendes-haus-in-der-suedstadt-88646?cb=1681200045419
Gentrification explained on wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentrifizierung
Michael Schleicher, head of the Cologne housing office from 2002 – 2012, explains the consequences of gentrification in one sentence: “The people who keep or have kept the city running (pensioners!) have to move to the outskirts because rents are cheaper there and just affordable for them.” https://www.vhw.de/fileadmin/user_upload/08_publikationen/verbandszeitschrift/FWS/2015/3_2015/FWS_3_15_Riege_Schleicher.pdf
To the demonstration against eviction to 13. 04.2023
reported the city indicator:
Initiatives want to take action against luxury renovations in Cologne
“We do not want to accept that in our city again and again long-established tenants are exposed to the arbitrariness of profit-seeking and rent sharks,” stressed Wolfgang Lindweiler of the Left Party, one of the organizers of the protest. Luxury renovations, for example, are repeatedly used to dramatically increase rents. The result is that people with low incomes have to move away, while higher earners move into trendy neighborhoods.
https://www.ksta.de/koeln/muelheim/muelheim-veedel/protest-in-koeln-muelheim-schwerbehinderter-muss-wohnung-raeumen-550274
Elections in Finland
Finland wants to abolish homelessness as early as 2027 – three years before 2030, as decided by the EU. Will it stay that way after the right-wing opposition parties win the elections? For the right, the welfare state is too social.
The taz interviewed Toivo Haimi of the Left Alliance on the deselection of Sanna Marins.
Taz: In our image of the Nordic countries and also Finland, the welfare state is very significant. Is that still true at all?
Toivo Haimi: Yes. Nobody questions the welfare state per se. But many think that it is too strong, and too nice to people who don’t deserve it; that the unemployed, the students, the immigrants are doing too well here.
https://taz.de/Linker-Politiker-ueber-Abwahl-Sanna-Marins/!5923242/
To read
Erich Mühsam and the attempts to agitate homeless people:
https://www.drstefanschneider.de/?view=article&id=837:erich-muehsam&catid=29
Taken from the book: Künstlerhaus Bethanien (ed.): Wohnsitz: Nirgendwo – Vom Leben und vom Überleben auf der Straße, Verlag Fröhlich und Kaufmann, Berlin 1982
Living after the penal system
https://www.awoberlin.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/FMFW_Broschuere_Wohnen-nach-dem-Strafvollzug.pdf
A noteworthy decision by the Social Court of Celle: The social welfare office must pay the rent of prisoners in certain cases, even if they have been in custody for more than six months:
https://taz.de/Gegen-Obdachlosigkeit-nach-dem-Knast/!5788105/
Broadcasts, messages, news
Housing as a social service of general interest
https://www.landtag.nrw.de/portal/WWW/dokumentenarchiv/Dokument/MMD18-3297.pdf
Prescribed rent increase
Costs for installing new heating systems can be passed on to tenants in full. Warnings from the Tenants’ Association and Die Linke
https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/448720.modernisierungsumlage-verordnete-mieterh%C3%B6hung.html
The tenant house syndicate: The houses to those in it live
The example of Wörthstrasse in Munich-Haidhausen
https://taz.de/Haeuserkampf-in-Muenchen/!5920501&s=Dominik+Baur/
Rents: No relaxation
And it is still true that moving in particular is becoming more expensive: According to the ZIA spring survey, asking rents in existing properties rose by 5.2 percent nationwide in 2022, more than in previous years.
https://wipo.verdi.de/publikationen/++co++330021e8-d850-11ed-b779-001a4a160100
Vonovia scandal
On March 7, the Vonovia housing group was raided on suspicion of corruption in the awarding of contracts to construction and trade firms; several people are in custody. We have reported on Vonovia many times before, because of bad conditions of rental units, lack of waste disposal, faulty billing and much more. Will anything change for tenants now? https://www1.wdr.de/fernsehen/markt/sendungen/uebersichtseite-markt-2202-116.html
In its fight against inflation, the Spanish government limited the increase in residential rents to two percent per year, lowered the prices for public transportation and granted a fuel rebate of 20 cents per liter of fuel.
https://www.businessinsider.de/wirtschaft/was-tun-gegen-die-inflation-so-senken-spanien-niederlande-frankreich-italien-die-preise/
From Tuesday, April 11 to Saturday, April 15, 2023, we, the staff of the Office for Public Participation (BÖB for short), will be on the road for you throughout Cologne.
Starting in October, we plan to add the topic areas of urban planning/urban development for systematic public participation.
https://meinungfuer.koeln/boeb-on-tour
Housing shortage in Berlin: clearing leads to homelessness
Two housing estates are to be cleared. For many residents, this could make the housing situation even more precarious.
https://taz.de/Wohnungsnot-in-Berlin/!5926885/
Housing initiative assesses urban green master plan as “one-sided”.
https://www.report-k.de/wohnungsbauinitiative-bewertet-masterplan-stadtgruen-als-einseitig/
Landlords wanted: Giving homeless people in Cologne a chance
https://so-stadt.de/so-koeln/news/vermieter-gesucht-obdachlosen-in-koeln-eine-chance-geben?
Conditions in a municipal emergency shelter. End of the line Kelmesberg
People who are struggling, drug addicts, homeless – people whose care is difficult and costly. The small Rhineland town of Stolberg has banished them to the outskirts of town. https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/endstation-kelmesberg-untragbare-zustaende-in-einer-staedtischen-notunterkunft-spiegel-tv-a-22faeb03-6a51-48c1-b842-753f8e07e9be
Higher rents to combat housing shortage? Researchers make questionable proposal
https://www.focus.de/immobilien/mieten/vor-allem-rentner-waeren-betroffen-hoehere-mieten-gegen-wohnungsnot-forscher-machen-fragwuerdigen-vorschlag_id_190737270.html
77-square-meter apartment in Lanxess Tower for 3080 euros a month
https://verliebtinkoeln.com/was-eine-77-qm-wohnung-am-lanxess-tower-mit-rheinblick-kostet/
Dates
15.04.2023, 11 a.m., Rally against vacancy, Rosenstr.7-9, 50678 Cologne, Germany
15.04.2023, 2 p.m., #I’mPoorAffected, Kreuzblume at the cathedral
04/18/2023, 7pm, StadtGRÜN Cologne. House of Architecture, Josef-Haubrich-Hof 2
20.04.2023, 3:30 p.m., Social Committee
04/21/2023. 1 – 3 p.m. Digital workshop: providing for people from other EU countries without social benefit entitlements in Germany. Registration via link
https://ssl-sug.carinet.de/slus/anmeldeseite-kagw-21-04-23-versorgung-von-menschen-aus-dem-eu-ausland-ohne-sozialleistungsansprueche-in-deutschland
22.04.2023, 11 a.m., Rally against vacancy, Wallstr.31, 51063 Cologne, Germany
24.04.2023, 19:30, Where does Cologne want to go? Via culturalis or Via Ballermann? Cathedral Forum
25.04.2023, 18-21h, Event on the Lindgens-Areal in Mülheim South. The current planning status. Lokschuppen, Hafenstraße 7, 51063 Cologne, Germany.
https://www.stadt-koeln.de/politik-und-verwaltung/stadtentwicklung/muelheimer-sueden/lindgens-areal
04/25/2023, 6:30 p.m., Spring Festival at the House of Architecture with the new Cologne Department Head for Urban Development, Andree Haack, Josef-Haubrich-Hof 2.
05/13/2023, 12pm, Rudolfplatz, Cologne Our topic: search apartment!!!
With the series TALK IN PUBLIC, Angie Hiesl + Roland Kaiser carry debates on burning socio- or cultural-political issues into the public space.
May 16, 2023, 3:30 p.m., Council.
For a city without homelessness
For a city without evictions
For a city without drug deaths
For a city without violence against women and children
For a city without deportations
For a city without poverty
April 8, 2023
Klaus Jünschke and Rainer Kippe
https://wohnungsnot.koeln
PS
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Intended purpose: Aktionsbündnis
Translated with DeepL
