To Fix German Housing Crunch, Convert Empty Offices, Lobbyists Say
- Converting office space may alleviate social housing shortfall
- Group sees potential to create 235,000 apartments by 2025
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German cities should create more affordable homes by converting thousands of vacant office properties into living space, according to an alliance of lobby groups.
As many as 235,000 residential units could be created by 2025 using offices left vacant during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Social Living, whose members include Germany’s Mieterbund tenant association, labor union IG Bau and representatives of construction groups. The group claimed conversion would cost about half of full modernization and a third of a new building, coming in at about 1,100 euros ($1,328) per square meter.