Hamburg Senate tightens austerity measures for office space

The Hamburg Senate is tightening its austerity measures for administrative office space. By 2040, authorities, offices and state companies should use 15 to 20 percent less office space than they do today. According to calculations by the tax authorities, this could result in the loss of 180,000 to 250,000 square meters of office space. Finance Senator Andreas Dressel (SPD) spoke of having to “strongly put the brakes on space costs”.

The background is the austerity measures with which Hamburg wants to reduce its long-term budget deficit. The city uses around 5,500 public buildings and pays one billion euros in rent from the general core budget. In addition to the high total amount, there is another pressing problem: from 2024 to 2025 alone, rents rose by 13 percent. Without countermeasures, the Senate said, the city would face additional costs running into double-digit millions in the coming years.

Several projects in recent years show that development has already begun. At new government locations, significantly fewer square meters are planned per employee than was previously the case. The area requirement fell from 32 to currently 24 square meters. In some cases, the tax authorities have even been able to ensure that only 21 square meters per employee are rented in new offices. At the same time, some desks were reduced in order to only have 67.5 workstations for 100 employees.

Greater control should promote savings

But the 24 square meter requirement is not being adhered to consistently enough by all authorities and offices, as can be seen from a printed document that the Senate passed this week. Therefore, control should be strengthened. Six officials who have previously been responsible for the so-called “space cost brake” as a project within the tax authority are now to take on the task as a permanent position. The costs - in 2028 there will be around 777,000 euros for staff - were refinanced “in the short term through planned savings”.

The pressure on the city also has historical reasons. In the 2000s, Hamburg sold numerous administrative buildings to private investors and then rented many of them back. Some important properties have now been returned to city ownership. However, the city continues to use numerous buildings that do not belong to it. At the same time, further rental contracts will expire in the coming years, while rents on the office market have risen significantly.

The Senate has therefore been trying for years to reduce the administration's space requirements. With the current decision, this course is now significantly tightened. For the first time, the city has set a specific goal of reducing its office space by up to a fifth by 2040.