ABSTRACT
A number of important measures were introduced in the 1980s which changed the German housing system radically. The changes were made law in 1988 and implemented in 1990. There was nothing to stop the social housing companies from continuing to operate on a non-profit, ‘public good’ basis and the co-operatives and municipally owned companies were less affected by the legal changes than privately sponsored companies. In 1985, the Federal Ministry of Housing initiated research into the situation on the outer estates. At the same time, these estates became eligible for federal renovation subsidies under the urban renewal programme. Housing companies generally adopted a more responsive, more competitive management strategy to entice tenants in and persuade them to stay. The size of German estates and the ‘new town’ approach offered some advantages. The 1987 census revealed a crude shortage of 740,000 dwellings after nearly a decade of government belief that there was a housing surplus.
