New protection against dismissal: Government fights against homelessness!

New protection against dismissal: Government fights against homelessness!

The federal government is planning far-reaching changes to tenancy law to protect tenants from losing their apartment and prevent homelessness. Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) has announced that she will extend the grace period payment, which currently helps existing tenants in arrears. This is welcomed by the Federal Working Group for Homeless Assistance (BAGW), as it is seen as a step to support tenants in emergency situations. The managing director of the BAGW, Sabine Bösing, emphasizes that protection against ordinary dismissals is a necessary part of this reform.

Currently, tenants who are in arrears with their payments have the opportunity to avoid extraordinary termination if they pay these arrears within two months. However, the new regulation should also be extended to ordinary terminations. This would mean that even after rent arrears have been paid in full, there is still a risk of termination, which Bösing notes critically. In this context, she calls for a comprehensive package of measures to combat homelessness and more socially supported housing.

Calls for further measures

Additional votes on the changes come from Katja Kipping, chairwoman of the Joint Association. She describes the extension of the grace period as positive, but believes that the measures are inadequate. Kipping calls for strong regulations in the rental sector and increased rent controls to ensure affordable housing.

However, the planned changes are not only met with approval. The owners' association “Haus & Grund” expresses concerns and criticizes that the proposals would represent a significant burden for private landlords. The association's general counsel, Inka-Marie Storm, warns that the law only covers rent arrears and advance payments, but does not take additional costs into account. She emphasizes that this regulation could put private landlords in an inappropriate position, as they are often left with part of their claims and the uncertainty in tenancies increases.

According to current estimates, around 531,600 people in Germany are considered homeless, of which around 47,300 are considered homeless. The further steps required to implement the new regulation and the expansion of socially subsidized housing remain a central challenge for politicians.