To address the shortage of skilled workers, some companies in Germany are now offering support with housing – and thus creating new living space. This emerges from a study commissioned by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, which was reported by the Funke Media Group’s newspapers. The study was conducted by the Federal Institute for Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Research (BBSR) in cooperation with the Cologne Institute of the German Economy (IW).
According to the study, 5.2 percent of companies support their employees with direct measures on the housing market. They, for example, appear as landlords themselves or provide living space in cooperation with partners. Assuming a total of around 675,000 employee apartments and 46,000 dormitory places for young employees or apprentices were offered over the past decade. The majority of the living space is existing, as companies usually purchase or rent apartments before subletting them to employees – but also around 161,000 apartments were newly built.
11.6 percent of companies support their employees with indirect measures, such as commissioning real estate agencies, providing housing allowances, or offering a housing exchange on the company’s intranet. Larger companies with more than 250 employees tend to offer more direct support, while smaller and medium-sized enterprises tend to support their employees with indirect measures more often. The support for employee housing is most common in the service sector, with 44 percent of companies that support their employees stating that they rent or buy apartments and sublet them to their employees. 17 percent stated that they are involved in the construction of new apartments, and 8 percent said they acquire occupancy rights.
“The topic of employee housing offers an incredible potential for companies. Who actively supports the search for housing or offers living space themselves can easily attract skilled workers” said Rolf Bösinger (SPD), State Secretary in the Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, to the Funke newspapers. “Many companies are still doing too little to support their employees’ housing.” “We want more employers to set up employee housing” said Bösinger, referring to the Ministry’s funding programs.
Support also came from the German Trade Union Federation (DGB). “Companies should invest more in the construction of living space for their employees to create urgently needed affordable housing” said DGB Board Member Stefan Körzell to the Funke newspapers. Offering company apartments helps to bind skilled workers in the long term. Many employees can currently not afford a suitable apartment near their workplace and must therefore accept long commutes.
Steffen Kampeter, Chief Executive of the Federal Association of German Employers’ Associations (BDA), described the housing policy as a “brake on our growth”: “Where there are no affordable apartments on the market, the talents also stay away. The recruitment of employees no longer just depends on the salary” said Kampeter to the Funke newspapers.
“Employee housing alone will not eradicate the housing shortage” said the BDA CEO. It needs a policy that makes private investments attractive. “Building in Germany is too expensive, too slow, too bureaucratic. If we do not deregulate building regulations and speed up approval procedures, the dream of new living space will remain an illusion.”
A total of 4,445 employees and 567 companies were surveyed for the study, and additional qualitative interviews were conducted. According to the BBSR and IW, representative quotas for private companies can be derived from the overall study.