Left-wing politician questions home demolitions in Saxony

Left-wing politician Juliane Nagel has critically questioned the demolition of apartments in the Free State of Saxony. "In Saxony, almost 1,000 apartments were demolished in 2023, for which the federal and state governments spent millions - most of them in Schneeberg, Hoyerswerda, Riesa, Limbach-Oberfrohna, Schwarzenberg, Bischofswerda, Lugau and Plauen," explained the member of the state parliament in response to a minor question. This is not good news, because the money would be better invested in upgrading living space. Partial demolition is generally more sensible than complete demolition.

"If we want life outside the big cities to be attractive, good and affordable housing must be available for everyone who wants to live there. Without enough housing, it will not be possible to provide decentralized accommodation for refugees," said the MP. However, people seeking protection should not live together in large numbers, but in the middle of society - this also facilitates integration.

In its answer to the minor interpellation, the Ministry for Regional Development listed 921 apartments that were demolished last year with the help of two federal and state programmes. The federal government and Saxony supported this with 11.1 million euros. With 128 residential units, the town of Limbach-Oberfrohna was far ahead of the rest.

Officially, the demolition of apartments is usually referred to as demolition. The issue also plays a role for Saxony's housing cooperatives. "In 2023, an estimated 300 to 400 apartments were taken off the market," the Association of Saxon Housing Cooperatives announced at the end of January. In the medium term, 200 to 300 apartments per year are expected to be demolished.

Some of the housing units demolished by the cooperatives are also included in the statistics of the Ministry of Regional Development. However, the public sector only subsidizes one complete demolition. The cooperatives often make use of so-called partial demolition and, for example, only demolish one floor.