Amid a tight housing market, Hessian cities like Frankfurt, Offenbach, and Marburg are exploring ways to allocate apartments more fairly based on residents' life situations. They offer moving premiums and plan barrier-free options to address the lock-in effect. However, initiatives so far show limited response.
Many people live in unsuitable apartments: Couples in large, non-barrier-free homes after their children move out, while young families need more space. Affordable housing is scarce in Hessian municipalities. To achieve fairer distribution, cities are providing incentives.
In Frankfurt, tenants in social housing receive a moving premium for vacating larger apartments. The voluntary program has existed for years. The premium is 2,500 euros for moving to a privately financed apartment, scaled between 750 and 2,500 euros for smaller social housing. Moving and renovation costs are also subsidized. Frankfurt has about 28,000 social housing units. Last year, there were only eight moves, six to smaller social apartments; in 2023, just two.
In Offenbach, the Gemeinnützige Baugesellschaft Offenbach (GBO) promoted apartment swaps among its 5,000 rental units in 2022 via flyers. Response was low: Only three tenants inquired, but specific wishes led to no successes. The GBO keeps the offer open.
Experts attribute this to the lock-in effect in tight markets. Katharina Wagner, head of Frankfurt's housing office, says: “This can lead to people in large apartments wanting to leave them, but finding that smaller space is now more expensive upon new rental than their established home. People thus cannot afford to downsize.” Examples include arguing couples or seniors unwilling to leave familiar surroundings.
Marburg targets the elderly. Building councilor Michael Kopatz emphasizes: “Therefore, we want to create barrier-free housing offers specifically for people in the second half of life.” A project in Moischt converts a farmyard into small, barrier-free apartments to keep seniors local and free up single-family homes for young families.