While the country tries to foreigners to provide qualified professionals, companies build or rent accommodation to attract employees. The problem, however, is far from being solved. At the moment, there are almost 200 vacancies open only in public services in Munich, in southern Germany. The municipal company, responsible for the supply of energy and water, in addition to public transport, is one of the major employers of the Bavaria state capital.
“For some time since we have not been able to find a sufficient qualified job. Now we regularly participate in the recruitment events in Sarajevo [Bósnia e Herzegovina]Tyrann [Albânia] and Malaga [Espanha]”He says Bernhard Boeck of the Public Energy Company and Águas Stadtwerke München.
The interviews, however, no longer revolve around the work itself: “We are asked to accommodate in almost all candidates,” he says.
The probability of finding an apartment accessible in Munich is comparable to earn the lottery. And the situation is even more difficult for foreigners.
In a survey conducted by the Audit Pwc company, four out of five companies in Germany say that the real estate crisis is making it even more difficult to find and retain qualified work, especially in areas that do not pay high wages such as health, gastronomy, trade and industry.
A professional on three large German cities and urban centers claims to have thought of moving and changing work because the rentals are very expensive.
According to the experts of the German Council for the Economy, who advise the Federal Government, the housing deficit already has a “negative impact on general economic development” and therefore compromises the growth of the country. In the end, people no longer change where there are good job offers.
The rental contract is an advantage
Monaco is one of Germany’s most expensive cities. To get an idea, the average price for new positions is 25 euros per square meter. A 50 square meter apartment, for example, would cost 1,250 euros, outside the additional rates of water, electricity and heating during the winter.
“Most of our employees have medium and low salary intervals, so they can’t afford it,” says Boeck.
Therefore, the public company has created its real estate sector, managed by Boeck. Overall, 1,500 apartments have already been built or purchased and the goal is to build 3,000 by 2030.
“If you can tell a candidate that his employment contract has a rental contract, this is a resource to be used in his favor”, justifies.
The amount of the rent is decided by the board of directors of the company, based on the income of the worker, and costs on average 12 euros per square meter, in addition to extra expenses.
“The IT staff pays more than the technical employees,” says Boeck. “We must not profit from the apartments, we have to cover our general costs. We try to build and reform the cheaper possible and work hard with the prefabricated components,” he explains, alluding to the increase in construction costs.
The concept has existed from the nineteenth century
Offering housing to workers is a tradition in Germany. It started in the middle of the 19th century in the middle of industrialization. To satisfy the growing demand for labor and connect workers to long -term companies, Krupp Steel Company has built thousands of apartments and houses.
Others followed the example. Both for the coal, post office, post office or railway employees, large housing properties were erected that offered not only accommodation at affordable prices, but also a strong sense of the community.
But at the end of the twentieth century, when the lack of accommodation was not a problem and there was abundance of work, most of the properties were put in the background.
Accommodations as the main challenge
In the meantime, the situation has changed radically. Ten years ago, foreign companies that wanted to settle in Germany would have essentially requested day centers and schools.
“Now, the first question is: where are the apartments for employees? The issue of homes has become one of the main problems for Germany as a place of activity,” says Rolf Bösinger, secretary of the Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and works . The folder is managed by the Federal Democratic Social Party (SPD) of the Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
When the government coalition – now broken, took over, in 2021, the SPDs, the environmentalists of the Greeni and the liberals of the Liberal Democratic Party (FDP) had the aim of building 400,000 houses per year.
But the explosion of energy and material costs and inflation have made this account much more expensive. In 2022 295,300 new houses were built throughout Germany. In 2023 there were 900 less. Now, real estate representatives say that 800,000 houses are left in the country.
Economy under pressure
Providing accommodation for employees is also the task of companies, says Bösinger. He denies that the state is trying to push the private sector to the responsibility to solve the problem of lack of accommodation. He says that the government is investing more and cites tax incentives, subsidy programs and state credit lines at favorable conditions.
A survey of the German Economic Institute found that 5% of German companies support their employees directly with specific housing offers, such as the rent of the apartments that are subsequently collected by the employees. Another 11% of companies offers indirect measures, such as the exchange of residence or subsidies for rental.
Accommodations as part of the business
According to the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, companies are increasingly needing a guide on the housing theme. Now this is a cost that should be taken into consideration when taking employees. The impact of this on the ability to generate profits and invest will depend on the economic strength of each company.
There are also legal and social issues. What happens, for example, if the employees resign, withdraw or fire? They forgive the right to the company’s apartment and must move, or would it be possible to stay and “just” pay an amount of rent consistent with the prices practiced on the market?
The tenant’s law provides for more solid protections against the unilateral revocation of the contract at the expense of the lessee, but apply very limited only in the case of functional apartments, which are regulated by the rental contract.
Competition with the real estate market of the private sector
In addition to the crisis and all the challenges, politicians also care about the possibility that the real estate market can be even more difficult if companies acquire or rent more existing buildings, instead of building new ones.
With the even scarce offer, social inequality can be inevitable, taking into account the fact that one in two companies resort to functional apartments to attract professionals qualified from abroad.
Therefore, the German union federation asks companies that want to settle in Germany to be required to build housing for employees. Something that opposes Bernhard Boeck, the Public Energy Company and águas de Monaco: “Above all, it is a matter of money. The government must provide more targeted support,” he says.
For Boeck, it is also up to the states and local authorities to help reverse the frame: if they provided land of land of their properties, for example, it would be very helpful.
Source: Terra
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