Munich initiative helps people shut out of rental market find homes

Munich can allocate 3,000 social housing units each year, but there are ten times as many applicants, BR reports. The Catholic Men’s Welfare Association, which has worked for years to find affordable housing, has launched a new initiative to help people who have little chance on the rental market.

Jony James E. was among the first people to receive an apartment through the non-profit MietMachen München gGmbH. The Catholic Men’s Welfare Association, private initiatives and a listed property company helped secure the housing.

James had spent many months looking for an apartment. He had previously been homeless and lived in a men’s residence run by the welfare association. Although he was working in the hospitality industry, he received only rejections from landlords, even with an average income.

The 33-year-old now lives in a two-room apartment in northern Munich. “Having an apartment gives you a foundation and means you can move forward in a completely different way,” he said.

MietMachen München focuses on people who have little chance of finding housing on the private rental market, including homeless people, single parents and people with a migration background. The Free State of Bavaria and the city of Munich support the project.

The initiative signs the rental contract with the landlord, guarantees regular rent payments and handles administrative matters. This is intended to give property owners little or no risk.

Several supporters joined the Catholic Men’s Welfare Association last year, including the Renate Stichter Foundation, which supports single parents and their children, the Hirn Herz Hand association, founded by employees of a management consultancy, and the Internationaler Bund, which has long helped homeless people.

Vonovia, a listed property company, was one of the initiative’s first supporters. It has provided ten apartments from its portfolio and plans to find another ten for MietMachen München each year.

“We want to support the initiative and the Catholic Men’s Welfare Association in giving people coming out of homelessness a new home,” said Andrea Günther, Vonovia’s regional manager. “Housing is a basic need, and everyone should have access to it.”

Vonovia has about 6,000 apartments in Munich, around 300 of which become available to new tenants each year. Günther said ten apartments might not seem like many, but they were a start and could potentially lead to more.

James’s apartment is one of Vonovia’s units. He and his partner now have a daughter, and both parents are working. They recently took over from MietMachen München and signed the rental contract themselves.

The apartments are not free. Rent is charged at market rates, at around 16 euros per square metre. The initiative is seeking property owners who value a social contribution as well as personal profit and are willing to rent for less than 20 euros per square metre rather than 30.

MietMachen München is looking for rental apartments, temporary housing, rooms in shared flats and houses. It also says commercial properties could be converted into housing and is already working on one such project.