10.10.2025 Publication on the Housing Crisis @ZfgG

The article “Creating Affordable Housing as a Social Challenge—Tax Missteps as a Barrier to Investment” by Eberhard Kalbfleisch, Sascha H. Mölls, and Maurice Ulitzka has been published in the "Zeitschrift für das gesamte Genossenschaftswesen" (ZfgG 2025; 75(1-2): 7–26).

The creation and provision of affordable housing, especially in Germany’s major economic metropolitan areas, is one of the most pressing social issues of our time. The housing crisis, excessive rents, rent gouging, and similar abuses feature prominently in daily media coverage and are the focus of (social) policy initiatives at the federal and state levels. For example, the 2021 coalition agreement included provisions for increased public funding for housing construction, the extension of the rent cap—originally set to expire in 2025—and the creation of an “Alliance for Affordable Housing,” with the relevant ministries driving forward the implementation of the necessary measures. However, private initiatives are also on the rise; in this context, we will examine more closely those initiatives whose (economic) goal is not to maximize the profitability of real estate investments, but rather to dedicate themselves to the aforementioned objective—the creation and provision of affordable housing. In addition to the political framework, the legal structure and—in particular—any potential tax consequences of implementing such initiatives are central considerations when designing them. Alongside the “usual suspects”—income taxes and real estate transfer tax—one type of tax that is often overlooked in this context takes on particular significance: inheritance and gift tax. This article aims to highlight the specific inheritance tax considerations that must be taken into account when using the legal form of a registered cooperative (eG) in the design of private initiatives to improve the housing situation.