Verena Hubertz: New Minister of Housing, Facing the Crisis with Optimism
Hubertz Expresses a Sense of Accountability
The federal government is gearing up to tackle the housing crisis with fresh eyes and fresh blood. The vivacious Verena Hubertz, the new Federal Minister of Housing, Urban Development, and Building, aims to create new social housing and streamline the housing market. She'll share her strategies with Markus Lanz on ZDF on Wednesday evening.
The previous government's housing endeavors left much to be desired. However, Hubertz is determined to turn things around. With a successful startup, "Kitchen Stories," under her belt, she could have retired at 37. But ambition fueled her, and she's diving headfirst into this challenging role. Her goal? To overcome the staggering shortage of social housing that has left Germany with merely one-fourth of the units it had in the 1980s.
In the Pipeline: Goals and Challenges
Hubertz is a beacon of optimism, unflappable in the face of Markus Lanz's probing questions. With a keen entrepreneurial spirit, she's not focused on carving out specific numbers as her predecessors were. Instead, she insists on a regional approach, taking into account demographic shifts and immigration patterns. She promises to prioritize pace, technology, and tolerance, emphasizing adaptability to the ever-changing world.
Streamlining and Affordability: A New Era
Hubertz is addressing the rigid bureaucracy plaguing the housing sector head-on, aiming to reduce it by 25%. She's also championing the creation of affordable housing in new buildings, proposing monthly rents of under 15 euros per square meter. To achieve this, she's slashed her ministry's workforce by 500 employees and roughly 2500 subordinate authorities.
A Fresh Approach to Housing
While Hubertz hasn't disclosed a specific number of new apartments in her plans, she's setting goals for streamlining processes and boosting affordability. Collaboration with state governments, harmonizing regulations, and scrapping unnecessary standards are key to her strategy. Much like the "construction turbo" initiative she's preparing to present to the federal cabinet before the summer break, promising speedier construction and more efficient housing development.
[1] Source: Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development, and Building (Bundesministerium für Wohnen, Stadtentwicklung und Bauwesen)[2] Source: Handelsblatt, "Verena Hubertz will mit „Bau-Türbo“ versuchen, Wohnung knapp zu machen" (Verena Hubertz will attempt to make housing scarce with a "construction turbo")
- Despite Germany having only a quarter of the social housing units it did in the 1980s, the new Federal Minister of Housing, Verena Hubertz, is determined to address this shortage and aims to streamline the housing market as part of her community policy.
- Verena Hubertz's employment policy, which includes inspecting the rigid bureaucracy in the housing sector and slashing her ministry's workforce, is a significant departure from past strategies and is a crucial element in her political efforts to tackle the housing crisis.
