Bad Nauheim remains steadfast: No joining the Wobau for living space!

Bad Nauheim remains steadfast: No joining the Wobau for living space!

There is currently a hot debate in Bad Nauheim as to whether the city should join the new district “Wobau – Affordable Housing in the Wetterau District” or not. The building committee has intensively examined the advantages and disadvantages of joining, but the outcome remains uncertain. So far, Bad Nauheim is the only municipality alongside Glauburg and Kefenrod that has not joined Wobau. The FDP parliamentary group, supported by Marion Götz (SPD), head of the social affairs department, is pushing for membership in order to be able to benefit from the advantages such as advice, support and funding. This is particularly important as the housing market is tight and many municipalities are urgently looking for solutions to create affordable housing. According to Boeckler, there is a lack of around 1.9 million affordable apartments in major German cities, which only exacerbates the problem.

However, Mayor Klaus Kreß has expressed his concerns. He sees no additional benefit for Bad Nauheim, as its own housing is already sufficient. Kreß blames the nationwide migration policy and bureaucratic hurdles for the housing shortage. He also emphasizes that the expertise brought together in Wobau's shareholders' meeting is not enough to guarantee reliable support. Critical voices within the building committee, including Michael Schmale (FW), Dr. Sven Steininger (Greens) and Steffen Mörler (CDU) share similar concerns. This raises doubts about the effectiveness of Wobau in view of the urgent housing shortage.

The challenges of the housing market

Despite the burgeoning discussions in Bad Nauheim, the overarching problem of the shortage of housing in Germany cannot be overlooked. Tagesschau reports that the federal government is working on creating affordable housing. Measures such as relief for municipalities and the extension of the rent cap are on the agenda. Housing construction has come under pressure, especially in large cities: high interest rates and rising construction costs are drastically slowing the completion of apartments.

The traffic light government's target of 400,000 new apartments per year is seen as ambitious, not only in the Wetterau district but throughout Germany. If the challenges are not addressed immediately, housing construction could fall to its lowest level since 2009 in 2024. The housing situation is affecting more and more households: In large cities, six out of ten households have high rent burdens, while almost 13 percent have to live below the subsistence level after rent is deducted. These figures illustrate the urgency of improving the housing situation.

A call for cooperation

As part of the debate, Natalie Peterek (SPD) called for the project to be given a chance. After all, not only Bad Nauheim but also its neighboring communities in Hesse are facing major challenges. Failure to act could risk displacing low- and middle-income residents. Peter Heidt (FDP) also pointed out that the integration of the lower-income population into new housing projects should be a top priority.

Housing cooperatives, private entrepreneurs and public actors should be supported in order to promote the construction and renovation of rental apartments. Wobau's goal is clear: subsidies to create affordable rental housing must be granted in order to cover demand. More than 22 municipalities have already accepted the project, but a decision from Bad Nauheim is still pending. The decision was unanimously postponed until the meeting after the summer break - a decision that should not be put off given the current housing shortage.