What do the parties in Hamburg say on housing?

The AfD wants to create a separate "Hamburg Wohngeld" (housing allowance) to top up the federal housing allowance. It would support tenants who qualify for social housing but cannot get a unit. It would be paid for with funds currently earmarked for subsidizing social housing.

Many people have a right to social housing. But there are not enough units. The AfD wants to pay these renters money. It calls this the Hamburg housing allowance. The money would come from the social housing budget.

The AfD wants to offer residential building land at reduced prices to lower-income local residents. The basis would be the Federal Building Code, which allows such locals-first models. The party also aims to protect local identity and community cohesion.

Building land in Hamburg is very expensive. The AfD wants to sell it cheaper to locals. This is for people with less money. A points system would decide. Volunteering and work earn points.

The AfD rejects the Senate's goal of growing Hamburg to more than two million residents by 2030, as well as densifying existing neighborhoods under the "Hamburger Maß" guideline. Instead, money should go into transport links and digital infrastructure in the surrounding region. The metropolitan region is to become a joint planning region with neighboring districts.

The city wants more buildings in existing neighborhoods. The AfD is against this. Hamburg should not grow to two million people. The AfD wants better links to nearby towns instead. Hamburg should plan together with its neighbors.

The AfD wants to significantly raise Hamburg's homeownership rate, which the program puts at 25 percent. For a first owner-occupied home, the real estate transfer tax and land registry fees would be waived, notary fees capped and a home-building allowance paid. In the AfD's view, ownership protects against rent increases and poverty in old age.

Few people in Hamburg own their home. The AfD wants to change that. First-time buyers should pay no property purchase tax. Notary and agent costs should also go down. The state should also give buyers money.

The CDU wants to found an apprentice services organization together with chambers and associations to run dormitories for apprentices. The background is that midsize firms can hardly find affordable housing for their trainees.

Apprentices have a hard time finding a cheap place to live in Hamburg. So the CDU wants to found an organization for apprentices. It should run dorms for them. Students should also get more dorm places.

The CDU wants to boost housing construction through faster permitting. The administration is to be modernized and given more staff, review tasks are to shift to sworn architects and engineers, and the agencies involved are to be bound by deadlines.

The CDU wants building permits to come faster. City offices should become more modern and get more staff. If an agency does not answer in time, the application counts as approved. Experts such as architects should take on more responsibility.

The CDU wants to reverse the decline in social housing in Hamburg and continue subsidies for it reliably. The one-third mix rule for new construction is to stay in principle but could be relaxed depending on the area.

The CDU wants more social housing in Hamburg. These are low-cost apartments for people with little money. In new buildings, one third should still be social housing. Where there is already a lot of it, the rule can be relaxed.

The CDU wants targeted support for company housing and for apartments for trainees and students. The platform sees this as additional housing that is especially important for Hamburg as a business location.

The CDU wants to support housing for company employees. Trainees and students should also get more housing. The city should provide money and help find land. Permits should come faster.

The CDU wants more older office buildings converted into housing and plans to loosen planning and building law to that end. The platform points out that many companies need less office space because of remote work.

Many companies need fewer offices today. The CDU wants to turn old office buildings into apartments. The rules for planning and building should become simpler for this. It names City Nord and City Süd as examples.

The CDU wants to prevent additional requirements for new construction and renovation, both in Hamburg and at the federal level. Owners would decide for themselves how far and how fast to upgrade their buildings, with the carbon price and reporting duties serving climate protection.

The CDU wants no new rules for building. It says too many rules make building and rents expensive. Owners should decide for themselves how to renovate their buildings. The price on CO2 should take care of climate protection.

The CDU wants to make it easier for families with children and younger people to buy property through a city grant called "Hamburg-Geld." It would be accompanied by subsidized loans from the city's development bank and a waiver of land registry fees for first-time buyers.

The CDU wants to help families buy an apartment or a house. The city would add money. The CDU calls this Hamburg-Geld. People buying for the first time would also get cheap loans.

The CDU wants heritage protection applied according to uniform standards and with more restraint. In areas covered by a social preservation ordinance, landlords should again be able to carry out necessary repairs.

The CDU wants clear and equal rules for protecting historic buildings. Owners should not be left alone with the costs. In protected residential areas, landlords should be able to repair their buildings. The city should repair its own monuments in time.

The CDU wants denser and taller construction along Hamburg's main roads. This is meant to create many new apartments without paving over green space.

The CDU wants to build more apartments along big roads. Buildings there should be taller or get extra floors. That way green spaces stay free. The projects should start faster.

The CDU wants to revive the urban development project "Sprung über die Elbe" (Leap across the Elbe) and better connect and develop Harburg. The starting point is the Technical University, around which space for research, companies and housing is to be created.

The CDU wants to strengthen the borough of Harburg. Harburg should get better transport links. Companies and researchers should work together around the Technical University. There should be more dorms and apartments.

The CDU wants to develop downtown Hamburg, including HafenCity, according to a single plan. A coordination office with its own decision-making powers is to replace what the party sees as uncoordinated individual projects.

The CDU wants one overall plan for downtown Hamburg. HafenCity is part of it too. One office should steer everything and be allowed to decide. So far, the CDU says, there are only single projects without coordination.

The CDU wants housing included in every conversion and new construction project downtown, because in its view a lively center needs residents. Changes of use are to be made legally easier, and the city is to work with private investors.

Few people live in downtown Hamburg. The CDU wants to plan apartments in every building project there. The city should work with private investors for this. The CDU rejects a ban on furnished rentals.

The Greens want 3,500 subsidized and price-capped homes built each year at first, rising to 5,000 in the medium term. Housing construction is to focus more on the need for affordable homes.

The Greens want more low-cost homes to be built. At first it should be 3,500 a year. Later it should be 5,000 a year. The city is to support the building with money.

The Greens want to lower construction costs by speeding up planning and permitting and by adjusting design requirements. There are to be no cutbacks on sustainability.

The Greens want to make building cheaper. Offices should handle building applications faster. The rules should be easier to understand. Homes made from ready-made parts should be built more often.

The Greens want to raise the share of subsidized homes in private building projects from one third to at least half. Municipal development areas are to go mainly to public-interest developers, which are to be strengthened.

In new building projects, half of the homes are to be subsidized. Until now it has been one third. City land is to go mainly to builders that do not aim for profit. These include SAGA and cooperatives.

The Greens want to extend the rent commitment period for subsidized homes to 40 years and keep expiring commitments alive with financial incentives. In new subsidized homes, rent is to be tied to income so that more homes can be created with the same funding.

Subsidized homes are to stay low-cost for 40 years. The rent is to depend on income. People who earn more pay a little more rent. The tax office is to check income every 5 years.

The Greens want to support families in building or buying a home they live in themselves. Low-interest city loans are to be available from two children on, and later an allowance on the real estate transfer tax is to be added.

Families should find it easier to buy their own home. The city is to give low-cost loans to families with two or more children. Until now, they need three children. Later, families are to pay less tax on their first purchase.

The Greens want to implement the federal Neue Wohnungsgemeinnützigkeit (new nonprofit housing status) quickly and add a separate Hamburg funding segment. This is meant to create an additional stock of permanently low-cost rental homes.

The Greens want a new kind of support for housing companies. In return, the companies must offer low rents for good. They must put their money back into housing. They then pay less tax and get city land more easily.

The Greens want to expand home swapping with SAGA and set up a relocation office with moving bonuses for the private market. Older people are to be able to move into smaller homes at low cost, while families find larger ones.

Some people have a home that is too big. Families often look for a bigger one. The Greens want to make swapping homes easier. A new office is to help with this, and there is to be money for moving.

The Greens want to use all state-level tenancy and building law tools to protect tenants. Vacancy and misuse of housing are to be pursued by dedicated district task forces, preservation ordinances are to be extended, and the rent index is to be calculated differently.

Homes should not stand empty. They should also not be used as offices or vacation rentals. Special teams in the districts are to check this. The city is to pass such homes on to people in need.

The Greens want to push for stronger tenant protection at the federal level, including through Bundesrat initiatives. Index-linked rents are to be abolished or sharply limited, loopholes in the rent cap closed, and evictions for the owner's own use restricted.

The Greens want to protect tenants better. For this, federal laws must change. Index-linked rents are to end or be strongly limited. These are rents that rise with prices. Evictions for the owner's own use are also to become harder.

The Greens want new homes to be created mainly through densification and on land that is already sealed. Unsealed land is to be preserved because, according to the platform, it matters for climate adaptation, biodiversity and well-being.

The Greens want to use land sparingly. New homes are to be built where there are already buildings. Buildings are to get taller. Green areas are to stay free.

The Greens want buildings to be renovated or converted as a priority rather than torn down. According to the platform, this is meant to preserve affordable housing and cut carbon emissions and construction waste.

Old buildings are to be torn down less often. They should be renewed or used in a new way instead. Empty offices are to become homes. This saves energy and protects low-cost homes.

The Greens want the city to buy land, sell hardly any, and grant it under hereditary leasehold instead. Rights of first refusal are to be expanded so that land, as a limited resource, serves affordable housing.

The city is to keep its land. It is to lease the land and not sell it. It is also to buy new land. This is how the party wants to secure low rents.

The Greens want everything needed for daily life to be quickly reachable from home on foot, by bike or by bus and train. To this end, neighborhood centers are to be strengthened, land used in more varied ways and public spaces made more attractive.

Everything important should be close to home. This includes shops, doctors, schools and parks. People should get there easily on foot or by bike. Every district should have a lively center.

The Greens want to review the RISE funding program for disadvantaged neighborhoods, extend it, and add a fast-track version. At the same time, social infrastructure in the neighborhoods is to be built to fit local needs and its funding secured.

RISE is a city program. It helps neighborhoods with problems. The Greens want to check and improve the program. It should run longer. Youth centers and community culture centers should get secure funding.

The Greens want the city to effectively pursue excessive rents as an administrative offense. Tenants are to be able to report suspected cases easily and free of charge; in the Bundesrat, Hamburg is to push for a stricter ban.

Some landlords charge rents that are far too high. The Greens want to go after this more. Tenants should report high rents to the city for free. The city then checks the rent.

The Greens want to make Hamburg age-friendly and counter age discrimination. Older people should be able to live in suitable, affordable homes and find more meeting places where no purchase is required.

The Greens want a good city for older people. There should be more homes without obstacles. Old and young should be able to live together. There should be more free meeting places. Nobody has to buy anything there.

The Greens want to end homelessness by 2030 and make Housing First the guiding principle of support. Under this approach, a home of one's own comes at the start of the help, accompanied by further support.

The Greens want no one to be without a home by 2030. Homeless people should get a home first. After that they get more help. Fewer people should lose their homes.

The Greens call for removing the village of Moorburg from the port development area. In their view, only this allows the village to develop with housing construction, renovations and businesses.

The village of Moorburg has been part of the port expansion zone for over 40 years. The Greens want to end that. Then new homes can be built and old houses repaired. The village should stay.

The Greens want to create considerably more dorm places for young people in vocational training and at university. The share of trainees with a dorm place is to rise from under 3 to as much as 13 percent by 2030, and 2,000 new places are to be built for students.

Housing in Hamburg is expensive. This hits trainees and students hard. The Greens want to build more dorm places. Students should get 2,000 new places by 2030. Many more trainees should get a place too.

The Left wants a rent cap that lowers excessive rents and sharply limits further increases. Index-linked rents and the conversion of rental apartments into condominiums would be banned. The platform argues that housing is a basic right and that rent must not make people poor.

The Left wants a rent cap. This is an upper limit for rents. Rents that are too high should go down. Rents should hardly be allowed to rise. The party wants to ban index-linked rents. These are rents that go up automatically with prices.

The Left wants at least 5,000 new publicly subsidized apartments with controlled rents each year. The city should build and rent out more housing itself, and subsidized apartments should stay social housing permanently, following Vienna's example. The city should buy land instead of selling it.

The Left wants more social housing. There should be at least 5,000 new units every year. The city should build more homes itself. Social housing should stay cheap forever. The city should buy land and not sell it.

The Left wants to reorient the city-owned housing company SAGA toward the public good. Profits would no longer go to the state budget but into maintenance and new construction. SAGA would have to lower its rents and refrain from increases in the coming years.

SAGA belongs to the city of Hamburg. It rents out a great many apartments. The Left wants SAGA to use its profits for repairs and new homes. It should no longer hand money to the city. Rents at SAGA should go down.

The Left wants to take large, profit-oriented housing companies into public ownership. It also calls for a citywide right of first refusal for the public sector and a new non-profit housing status. In the party's view, the shortage of affordable housing cannot be solved by new construction alone.

The Left wants to expropriate large housing companies. The apartments would then belong to the public. The city should have the first right to buy houses and land everywhere. The party says no one should make a profit from housing. Then rents would fall.

The Left wants a public register of vacant and misused apartments. Using housing as vacation rentals or offices would be banned, and speculative vacancies would lead to expropriation. Apartment swaps would also be promoted.

Some apartments stand empty. Others are used as vacation rentals or offices. The Left wants to ban that. A register should show which apartments are empty. Owners who leave homes empty to make more money later should lose them.

The Left wants the Senate to commit to ending homelessness by 2030. The main tools are access to housing without preconditions and an expansion of Housing First. Evictions that leave people homeless would no longer take place.

The Left wants no one to live on the street by 2030. Homeless people should get an apartment first. This is called Housing First. No one should be evicted and end up homeless. Shelters should be small and have single rooms.

The SPD wants to keep creating housing in dormitories for apprentices. Companies that provide housing for apprentices themselves are to get advice and help with finding land and carrying out projects.

Apprentices have trouble finding housing. The SPD wants to build more dorms for them. Companies can also create housing for apprentices. The city wants to help them do so.

The SPD wants to extend the Mietpreisbremse (rent brake), remove exemptions and lower the cap on rent increases to 11 percent. Housing protection and the municipal right of first refusal are also to be strengthened.

The SPD wants to protect renters better. The rent brake should apply longer. It limits rent in new leases. Rents should also rise more slowly than now.

The SPD wants to revive housing construction after the rise in building and financing costs. The goal is to again permit 10,000 homes a year through faster procedures, new building land and more subsidies for affordable housing.

Too few homes are being built in Hamburg. The SPD wants to approve 10,000 new homes a year again. Permits should come faster. The city should support affordable homes more.

The SPD wants to cut construction costs in Hamburg by about a third without using public subsidies. A new "Hamburg Standard" is meant to reconcile housing quality with affordable rents.

Building homes in Hamburg costs a lot. The SPD wants to cut these costs by about a third. New building rules are meant to help. They are called the Hamburg Standard. This should lead to more affordable homes.

The SPD wants to continue and gradually expand subsidized housing despite growing budget pressure. In larger developments, the share of subsidized apartments could rise to as much as half.

The SPD wants to keep funding many low-rent homes. The number should grow step by step. In big building projects, up to half of the homes should be subsidized. Today it is one third.

The SPD wants to keep the municipal housing company SAGA in public hands and continue its course of new construction, renovation and neighborhood development. An umbrella cooperative is also to make it easier to found new housing cooperatives.

SAGA belongs to the city of Hamburg. It rents out many low-cost homes. The SPD does not want to sell SAGA. It also wants to make it easier to start new housing co-ops. A co-op is owned jointly by its members.

The SPD wants to keep developing residential neighborhoods through the RISE program and the Stiftung lebendige Nachbarschaften foundation. The areas covered by social preservation ordinances are to be kept, and new areas will be considered.

The SPD wants to make neighborhoods nicer to live in. It wants to spend money on squares, green spaces and meeting places. Some areas have special rules to protect tenants. These rules should stay. More areas may be added.

The SPD wants a funding program to encourage voluntary moves into smaller apartments and conversions of existing homes. Every district is also to offer the conditions for age-appropriate housing so people can stay in their neighborhood.

Some people live in a home that is too big for them. The SPD wants to help them move to a smaller one. There will be money and advice for this. Nobody has to move. Older people should be able to stay in their neighborhood.

The SPD wants to build about four fifths of new housing within the existing built-up city and use undeveloped land only at selected sites. The platform lists a series of major urban development projects.

The SPD wants to build new homes mostly where buildings already stand. This should cover about 80 percent of new homes. Open land should be built on only in a few places. There are several large building projects in the city.

The SPD wants to create more housing in downtown Hamburg and bring in new uses alongside retail. Squares and connections are to be upgraded, and the district centers strengthened as well.

The SPD wants more homes in the city center. Then the area is lively in the evening too. Squares should become nicer. A House of the Digital World is planned. The centers of the districts should also stay strong.

The SPD wants the city to own at least half of its land area. Using leasehold, rights of first refusal and the Grundsteuer C tax, it aims to curb land speculation and keep housing affordable in the long run.

The SPD wants the city to own a lot of land. It should be at least half of the area. The city would then sell land less often. It would rather lease it for a long time. This should keep housing affordable.

The SPD wants to create at least 3,000 new housing places each for students and for apprentices by 2030. Rents in student dorms are to be tied to the housing allowance in BAföG (federal student aid).

Students and apprentices need cheap housing. The SPD wants to build 3,000 new places for each group by 2030. Dorm rent should not be higher than the student aid amount for housing. Companies get help if they build homes for staff.