“It’s hard to comprehend,” says Agnes Fuchsloch from the Left Party’s council faction working group on rent and housing. “On the one hand, there’s a housing shortage; on the other, entire rental buildings stand empty and are rotting away. In total, there are 22,000 apartments in Munich that could become a home for those seeking one! But no one is moving in.”
On Monday, October 20th, the party held an on-site meeting about this issue. The location was 61 Baaderstraße: a five-story building with five 5-room apartments and a rear building has been standing empty for years and is falling into disrepair. Antonia Wolf, a supporter of the Left Party, grew up there: “A few years ago, the building was sold to a new owner. Since then, tenants have been partly evicted due to personal use claims by the owner, partly forced out. My mother, who lived on the fourth floor, also had to move out.” Now only two apartments are occupied; in the stairwell, building materials and garbage are piling up. Some time ago, there were signs of renovation, according to Wolf, but they suddenly stopped.
Allegations in Munich: “The City Thwarted the Renovation Plans”
We spoke with the owner. He says: “We started renovating as normal; the heating installer had already laid pipes. But then the Local Building Commission suddenly contacted us – and we had to stop everything. All permits were reviewed. A channel we had opened for gas lines in the fire protection wall was criticized, along with the residential use of a dry storage area, a missing parking space for the fire department, and a missing parking space for a cargo bike in the backyard – even though you can only access it via steps! The city thwarted our plans. Now everything is moving infinitely slowly, especially because it’s hard to get new appointments with tradespeople.”
Sitting Back and Waiting for Value Appreciation
The building was constructed in 1879 and is a protected historical monument. Christian Schwarzenberger from the Left Party: “Many owners let buildings stand empty because they are speculating on rising land prices. With no tenants, you can just sit back and expect a 20 percent increase in value.” Others speculate that their house will deteriorate so badly that it becomes beyond repair and thus must be demolished despite its protected status – this would make a new building possible.
For faction leader Stefan Jagel, it’s clear: “The city must apply more pressure here! It only manages to tackle two percent of the vacant stock each year.” His faction is calling for the electricity meter method: if a house has no electricity consumption for an extended period, the social services department investigates whether it’s vacant. Another method would be to better enforce the maintenance requirement stipulated by the building code. “The city would then renovate the house in question and send the bill to the investor.”
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