The German parliament’s Left party has sharply criticized the federal government for what they allege is a significant imbalance in consultation practices regarding housing policy. A recent parliamentary inquiry, detailed in a response from the Federal Ministry of Justice and reported by Funke-Mediengruppe newspapers, reveals a disproportionate focus on engaging with the real estate industry over representing the interests of renters.
Since the current government took office on May 6th, officials, including ministers and state secretaries, have documented 47 meetings with representatives of the property sector. In stark contrast, only twelve meetings were held with representatives of tenant advocacy groups during the same period.
Breakdowns by ministry expose the disparity further. The Federal Ministry of Construction has held 26 meetings with the real estate industry and just eight with tenant groups. The Chancellery has not hosted any tenant representatives, but has engaged with the property sector three times. Similar patterns are evident across other ministries, including the Federal Ministry of Finance (8 meetings with property representatives, none with tenant representatives), the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs (5) and the Federal Ministry of Labor (1). Even the Federal Ministry for the Environment, traditionally focused on sustainable development, demonstrates the skewed engagement, witnessing one meeting with tenant lobbyists and two with those representing the property industry.
The sole exception to this trend is the Federal Ministry of Justice, currently spearheading efforts to strengthen tenant rights under the leadership of Minister Stephanie Hubig. Here, three meetings were held with tenant representatives compared to only two with property representatives.
“Four times more conversations between the federal government and the real estate lobby than with tenant representatives demonstrate that the Merz government has significantly more receptive ears for the property lobby than for renters” stated Caren Lay, the Left party’s spokesperson for housing policy, who initiated the inquiry. She specifically criticized the Federal Ministry of Labor for planning substantial cuts to social welfare benefits – potentially impacting renters – without consulting tenant representatives. This highlights concerns that policy decisions are being driven by industry interests rather than a comprehensive consideration of the impacts on vulnerable populations. The disclosure points to a potential systemic bias that risks exacerbating existing housing affordability challenges and increasing insecurity for renters across Germany.
