German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 19/211,
pp. 26609-26610.
First, a critical word on the formulation for this current
affairs hour: “Housing Market as Political Plaything” is besides the point.
What the FDP means will be expressed in the second part of theme: “The Federal
Government’s Support for Freedom and Property in the Housing Market”.
Politics must concern itself with the people. Whose basic
requirements are no plaything. Private property promotes individual responsibility
and guarantees a gradual independence of people. Property promotes people’s
self-consciousness. All of our educational efforts for children and youth have
the goal of bringing up self-reliant, self-conscious citizens.
Ladies and gentlemen, this educational goal can only be
successful if independent thought [das
Mitdenken] obtains the necessary material dimension. Therefore, freedom and
property in the housing market must be a central concern for every Federal
government.
The introduction of rent caps here in Berlin was blessed by
a coalition led by the SPD – by the SPD which also co-governs in the Federal
government. We must also register a further intensification of the rent brake
and its prolongation until 2025, as a well as recognize a questionable reform
of the housing property law which further curtails rights of individual owners.
To this negative catalogue also belongs the reduction of the renovation assessment
[Sanierungsumlage] to 8 percent or
less. And the coming regulation of the construction code amendment allows to
imagine nothing good in the future.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is to conceded: The just now
specified negative catalogue shall make possible for a few high earners, of the
greater number of people, dwelling rents of good value. Ladies and gentlemen of
the left side of the house, you thereby neglect to observe the political
fundamental of “measure and mean”.
If a small landlord in Berlin was today asked how his
freedom and property rights were arranged, he would give a quite sobering
answer. The past legislation has let both shrivel to a deplorable remainder. Frau
Bayram of the Greens has clearly positioned herself in this question – I cite: “If
we now cap the rents, expropriation will later be easier”. This perspective
suits the recent foray of colleague Hofreiter, that the construction of new,
single-family houses is to be forbidden.
A considerable portion of the colleagues on the left side of
the plenum forget that certainly many of the small landlords purchase their
housing units with money earned from work, and for that have for years foregone
consumption. For these landlords it is thus in no way unproductive income, as
is always asserted, but labor and skill have been provided which were invested
in these dwellings. The Federal government is also obligated to protect these
people.
Politics has to promote the general good. The peace of mind
and sense of self-worth of a growing people decisively depend on four factors:
On a dwelling which corresponds to their requirements, a harmonious
partnership, a fulfilling occupation, and in the acknowledgment of their
personal individuality.
Residence is of the highest priority and is a basic right…All
circles of the population in their own ways strive for this. That ranges from
freehold property to rental unit. The overcoming of the crisis in the housing
market can only and alone be achieved by means of expansion of the housing
supply.
For that, nevertheless, all who have the means, regardless
whether home dweller or investor, require reliable parameters. They require the
assurance that today’s rules also still matter for tomorrow. Only then do
freedom and property become the driving powers which create prosperity. To
write this in the album of all delegations, and especially those of the
government coalition, must be the goal of this current affairs hour.
Thanks.
[trans: tem]
