From the BZ editorial team
Energy crisis, increased living costs – and then lose your apartment? It can definitely happen at Vonovia.
If necessary, the housing giant wants to terminate tenants who have not met their payment obligations for months, for example for the sharply increased additional costs. “Last resort: sending out the eviction notice,” says documents for an investor day that Vonovia presented on Tuesday.
Vonovia boss Rolf Buch emphasized that tenants who approach the group in the event of financial difficulties could stay in their apartments. “If a tenant has problems and gets in touch with us, we will find a solution,” Buch told Reuters. “He won’t be fired,” promised the Vonovia boss. “It’s only different for tenants who absolutely don’t want to talk to us.”
“We have no interest in people losing their homes,” emphasized Buch. Vonovia “supported the moratorium on dismissals under discussion from the start”. In the documents for the Investor Day, the group described in detail its procedure in the event of non-payment. Vonovia proceeds according to a step-by-step model. The group is in contact with tenants to find out the reasons for payment failures, it said there. If the tenant can get help from the state, Vonovia will inform him how he can get it so that the public sector can support the tenant.
Action for eviction in the case of arrears of two months’ rent possible
If the tenant still fails to meet his obligations despite an offer of individual solutions from Vonovia, the Group will send him a formal payment request. If the arrears then added up to the value of two months’ rent, it could, if necessary, be the last step in an eviction action. After that, the affected apartment can be rented again.
Due to rising gas prices, utility bills for tenants can skyrocket. According to earlier information from the group, around 55 percent of the heating systems in Vonovia’s portfolio are supplied with gas. Vonovia had announced that it would reduce heating at night to save gas. Prepayments are also increased to create a cushion. The Bochum group owns around 490,000 apartments in Germany.
Vonovia itself is struggling with the consequences of runaway inflation – because interest rates and construction costs are rising significantly. Buch therefore wants to bring investors on board. Buch is already looking for partners for housing stocks in Sweden and Baden-Württemberg. Vonovia will soon be entering into talks with investors, and corresponding information letters have already been sent to interested parties, according to the documents for the Investor Day.
In addition, the management is preparing real estate packages for sale. Talks with investors about a sale should also begin quickly for the care properties that the subsidiary Deutsche Wohnen has put up for sale, it said. According to its own statements, Deutsche Wohnen owns a total of 72 such facilities for senior citizens in several federal states. However, Vonovia is not under pressure with the sales plans and will not sell real estate packages at bargain prices.
The Bochum real estate giant, which has grown over the years through acquisitions worth billions, had announced that it now wanted to bring investors on board for joint ventures. He strives for community projects, such as with pension funds. The Bochum residents also want to part with apartments and single-family homes worth around 13 billion euros over the years. “In times of higher interest rates, it makes sense to reduce debt,” Vonovia boss Buch justified the course.
