Grüne on housing

The Greens want to simplify and speed up permits for housing construction. Existing buildings should be put to better use, for example by adding floors or converting vacant commercial space. The platform argues that slow procedures make the housing shortage worse.

The Greens want building to go faster. People should be able to file building applications online everywhere. Empty buildings should become homes. Building offices should get enough staff.

Digital building applications are to be rolled out quickly across the state, and building authorities are to be adequately staffed. The Greens want to use the federal "Bauturbo" (fast-track building rules) mainly for infill development, densification and work on existing buildings, in order to avoid new land use and high development costs. Adding floors, extensions and converting vacant commercial space into housing should become easier. Standardized building types and serial construction should be approved more easily and recognized statewide. Municipalities should actively manage vacancies and brownfield sites, including subsidized temporary uses.

The Greens want to noticeably increase and overhaul the state program "Wohnungsbau Sozial" (social housing construction). Cheaper loans and higher grants are meant to produce more social housing that stays rent-controlled for a long time. According to the platform, affordable housing often fails for lack of financing.

The Greens want to spend more money on social housing. These are homes with low rents. Builders of such homes should get cheaper loans. Rents should stay low for as long as possible.

The program is to offer lower-interest loans and higher repayment grants and keep rent caps on subsidized units for as long as possible; elsewhere the platform speaks of making the social-housing commitment permanent. New funding lines are planned for affordable age-appropriate housing and for bringing vacant buildings in town centers back into use. The share of social housing required in new construction is to rise. Cooperatives and other non-profit housing models are to be strengthened. Housing for trainees, students, older people, people with disabilities and assisted living groups is also to be expanded.

The Greens want new state programs to renovate old buildings, revive village centers and open up existing properties to young families. A home-swap action program and support for senior housing and multigenerational living are meant to help people find homes that fit their stage of life.

The Greens want old houses in villages to be used again. Young families should get help buying old houses. There should be advice on swapping homes. Older people should find smaller homes that fit them. Then large homes become free for families.

The programs "Neuer Schwung für alte Orte" (new momentum for old places) and "Jung kauft Alt" (young buys old) are to support renovation of old buildings and bring underused housing into use. The "Aktionsprogramm Wohnungstauschbörse MV" (AWT-MV) would fund state-paid contact points for advice and networking, since the platform says high rents and moving costs often prevent people from relocating. Conversion and new construction for innovative senior housing in town centers would also be subsidized so that large apartments and single-family homes become available for families. Home adaptations for old age are to be funded as well. The Greens want to enable and promote multigenerational living, which they say lowers housing costs and delays the need for care.

The Greens want to set up a state land fund that gives municipalities low-cost loans to buy land and buildings. Publicly owned land would in future be granted primarily under ground leases rather than sold. The party aims to curb land speculation and steer social housing development.

The Greens want a state land fund. Towns can get cheap loans from it. They can use the loans to buy land and buildings. Public land should no longer be sold. Instead, it should be leased for a long time.

The fund would use state loans to give municipalities long-term bridge financing for strategic purchases, strengthening their land reserves. Municipalities could then steer social and public-interest projects, such as housing, themselves and find new uses for brownfield sites or vacant buildings in town centers. The platform speaks of bringing land back into public hands. Under a ground lease (Erbbaurecht), the land stays publicly owned and is only handed over for use; this is also meant to secure long-term public revenue. Affordable housing is to be linked with reviving town centers.

The Greens want to apply the Mietpreisbremse (rent brake) consistently in tight housing markets and enforce tenancy law more strictly. A monitored ban on using housing for other purposes is to be added. The platform cites sharply rising rents in cities and tourist regions.

The Greens want to use the rent brake wherever homes are scarce. The rent brake limits the rent in new leases. Homes should not simply be turned into vacation rentals. Officials should check this.

The rent brake is to apply above all in university towns and in coastal and tourist regions. A Zweckentfremdungsverbot bans using housing for other purposes, such as vacation rentals, without a permit; the Greens want it to be effectively monitored. According to the platform, families, trainees, students and older people can hardly find affordable homes in these areas. Housing is described as a basic right rather than a luxury good.

The Greens want to simplify the state building code and review technical standards for usefulness and cost-effectiveness. Parking space requirements are to be relaxed. The platform says high building costs push up rents and slow housing construction; quality and safety are to be maintained.

Building is expensive. The Greens want to make the state's building rules simpler. Builders should have to provide fewer parking spaces. Homes made from ready-made parts should get support. This should make building cheaper.

Rules in the state building code are to be reviewed for their benefit, and building within existing structures is to be made easier. The Greens want to make the requirement to provide car parking spaces more flexible and reduce it where it makes housing more expensive. Serial and modular construction is to receive more support. Building with simplified technical standards is also to be made easier.