Residents of Germany are increasingly transferring funds to assist tenants facing financial difficulties or people without a roof over their heads. This is evidenced by data from the American platform GoFundMe, provided to the publication SPIEGEL. According to this information, approximately €6.8 million was raised on the platform for housing-related initiatives in 2025. A year earlier, this amount was €2.3 million. The study considered all charitable fundraisers with keywords such as: housing, rent, forced eviction, or homelessness. In total, the company recorded about 5,000 such campaigns, compared to roughly 2,400 the previous year.
GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan stated in an interview with SPIEGEL: “During my visit to Germany this year, one topic came up constantly in conversations: the growing concern over the cost of living—especially the costs of rent and housing.” In his view, this crisis has manifested particularly acutely in Germany. However, the rise in pleas for help also demonstrated the strength of society: a developed culture of solidarity where communities unite to support those in need. Across all categories on the platform in Germany, a total of €137 million was collected by December 15, 2025. In 2024, this figure stood at €111 million.
The Number of Forced Evictions is Rising
There are currently about half a million homeless people living in Germany, most of whom are placed in state shelters or with relatives and acquaintances. According to the federal government’s report on homelessness, at the beginning of 2024, 47,300 people were living directly on the streets or in emergency shelters. Two years earlier, statistics recorded 37,400 people.
According to information from the Ministry of Justice, the number of forced evictions has also increased recently. In 2024, more than 32,000 apartments were forcibly vacated, which is approximately 2,000 more than in 2023. Caren Lay, a housing policy expert for the Left Party, characterized these figures in mid-December as a “social catastrophe” and demanded: “Forced evictions leading to homelessness must be banned.” In her opinion, an increase in social housing stock and improved protection for tenants against contract terminations are required.
The federal government intends to rectify the housing shortage by expanding the volume of new construction. Recently, a slight recovery has been observed in the industry, with the number of building permits increasing. However, this is unlikely to fully meet the demand: according to estimates by the Pestel Institute in Hanover, there is a shortage of 1.2 million apartments in West Germany alone. The United Nations, the European Parliament, and the federal government have set a collective goal: to completely overcome the problem of homelessness by 2030.Источник: Der Spiegel
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