The SPD is currently talking a lot about affordable housing. But according to a report, Finance Minister Klingbeil, of all people, is pursuing plans for the Federal Real Estate Agency to transfer significantly more money to the federal budget in 2027 - and thus be able to build less.
Despite the acute housing shortage, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil is closing budget gaps with billions from the federally owned real estate agency. This is reported by “Spiegel”, which has relevant budget documents. Accordingly, the Federal Real Estate Agency (BImA) should transfer 1.5 billion euros to the federal budget next year. That's another 150 million euros more than this year. The Federal Real Estate Agency is the federal government's central real estate agency, which manages federal properties and has around 38,000 apartments in its portfolio.
According to the report, the transfer to the federal government goes to the financial substance of the federal agency. The budget states that the institution must “completely utilize the reserve for construction risks and the reserve for securing the federal construction performance” in order to raise the transfer of 1.5 billion euros for the federal budget.
From the financial planning it can be seen that the institution uses remarkably small amounts of money to upgrade empty apartments it owns, to modernize others or to build enough new ones. And that, the opposition suspects, is because they have to hand over the billions to the federal government. “Anyone who promises affordable housing is not selling off the foundation on which it is built,” said Green Party politician Lisa Paus to “Spiegel”. "With the BImA, everything you need for affordable housing is there: land, around 38,400 apartments and a clear construction contract." But instead of letting the Federal Real Estate Agency build, the federal government is taking 1.5 billion euros away from it.
When asked by “Spiegel”, the Ministry of Construction does not want to comment on “ongoing budget negotiations”, said a spokesman. The Ministry of Finance says that the federal cabinet decided on the corresponding transfer in the government draft for 2027. “It is true that the BImA can make new investments to a lesser extent.”
However, the BImA's capacities would be fully utilized, especially because the authority is building more for the Bundeswehr together with the Ministry of Defense. “At the same time, the special fund is investing significantly more in affordable housing than in the past,” explains the Ministry of Finance.
Klingbeil is currently talking a lot about the housing shortage: "The issue of affordable housing is one of the big social questions of our time, perhaps even the biggest social question," said the SPD leader. "We need more affordable housing everywhere in the country. We want to be a country that builds and can be built on. We want to build faster and build more cheaply. To achieve this, we are bringing together public and private capital."
