Frankfurt relies on reprivatization: Secure affordable living space!

Frankfurt relies on reprivatization: Secure affordable living space!

The city of Frankfurt has begun the reprivatization of nine properties in environmental protection areas. These measures are part of a comprehensive plan that came into force between 2017 and 2021, when the city acquired the homes in question under its right of first refusal. The first available residential building is Wittelsbacherallee 89 in Ostend, which was purchased in 2019. It is a five-story house with nine apartments that stands on a 247 square meter plot.

The building is awarded under leasehold. This approach is intended to ensure that the objectives of the environmental protection statutes are maintained. The leasehold building law also creates a long-term reference framework for the properties in order to preserve affordable living space and counteract displacement and social segregation. The ground rent for the first property is 222,537 euros and an annual ground rent of 29,640 euros. Projects oriented towards the common good can receive a reduction in the ground rent.

Criticism of the city administration

The reprivatization of these properties is met with different reactions. While the CDU criticizes the city for allowing the residential buildings to deteriorate, the coalition made up of the Greens, SPD, FDP and Volt is also dissatisfied with the city's management of the properties. The CDU city councilor Thomas Dürbeck expressed concerns that the city could potentially sell the properties at a loss. In addition, SPD city councilor Simon Witsch suggests selling other residential buildings and transferring them to the ABG.

The measures are taken against the background of environmental protection, a legal regulation in Germany that is anchored in the Building Code (BauGB). The aim of environmental protection is to protect the housing stock and the composition of the resident population in certain areas. The regulations enable municipalities to designate specific areas as environmental protection areas in which structural changes such as demolition, new construction or modernization may only be carried out with official approval. This measure also makes it more difficult to convert rental properties into condominiums and may restrict terminations for personal use in these areas.

Regulations and principles of environmental protection

Changes in environmental protection areas require all regulations in urban planning law, in particular paragraphs 172 and 174 of the BauGB. The specified areas specify that changes requiring approval also include extensive modernizations and floor plan changes. Rent increases are only affected by construction-related circumstances, but not by increases not related to construction. Violations of the environmental protection regulations can be punished as an administrative offense with fines of up to 50,000 euros.

The city of Frankfurt is therefore faced with the challenge of mastering the balancing act between maintaining social housing and the demands of the political opposition, which is demanding faster re-privatization.