SSW on housing

The SSW wants to reform the property transfer tax through an initiative in the Bundesrat. The goal is relief mainly for first-time home buyers and families.

People who buy a house or apartment pay a tax. It is called the property transfer tax. The SSW wants to change this tax. Families should pay less. So should people buying for the first time.

The party has previously argued for a tax-free allowance. It also says it is open to a compromise that takes elements from other proposals. What matters to it is that first-time buyers and families end up paying less.

The SSW speaks of a human right to housing and wants the state to help municipalities build public and social housing. This includes more investment, a housing protection law, an optional charge on tenants who no longer qualify for subsidized housing, and support for municipal housing companies. Young families buying a first home should get relief from the real estate transfer tax.

The SSW wants more affordable homes. The state should help cities and towns build them. Towns should be able to step in fast when housing conditions are very bad. Homeless people should get a home without conditions. Families should pay less tax on their first own home.

Municipalities should be allowed to levy a Fehlbelegungsabgabe (a charge on social-housing tenants whose income has risen above the limit), with the revenue going to new social housing. Cooperatives should be easier to support, for instance through tax breaks, and the founding of municipal housing companies should receive state money. Against homelessness the party relies on Finland's "Housing First" approach. New funding programs on the Scandinavian model should encourage energy-efficient, age-appropriate building, and more land should be available for tiny houses and other alternative housing. A real estate transfer tax allowance is planned for first-time buyers of owner-occupied homes.