Arguments of the representatives of the citizens' petition

There is a lack of affordable housing in Erlangen. Rents are high. Everyone feels it. Politicians, businesses and associations have been fighting for affordable housing for years. It is often said: New construction should help. But new apartments are expensive. Really affordable apartments are mainly found in existing buildings. Maintaining them not only saves money, but also space.

• Apartments should remain apartments
  The housing shortage is well known. Bavaria has recognized Erlangen as an area with a tight housing market. The city itself is also responding. With the "misappropriation statute", which came into force for five years at the beginning of 2020, it has committed to the principle of "apartments remain apartments". Its actions must be measured against this. Every affordable apartment lost exacerbates the problem. People with little money are hit particularly hard. And: the fewer affordable apartments there are, the more rents rise throughout Erlangen.
• Clinic needs staff
  The university hospital is an economic factor. Almost 10,000 people work there. It secures jobs and thus also the prosperity of many people in Erlangen. It is an important part of the medical city of Erlangen with its companies and cutting-edge research facilities. It cares for patients in the city and from all over northern Bavaria. Staff shortages in the healthcare sector jeopardize this.
• Staff need housing
  Hospital staff need housing - affordable and directly in the hospital district. This makes the university hospital more attractive for staff. However, its master plan no longer provides for halls of residence there. One hall of residence has already been converted into office space. More apartments could be lost. This fact does not seem to have the necessary priority at the top level of the University Hospital - to the detriment of the hospital staff and all Erlangen residents. Employees would have to continue commuting. This costs time, puts a strain on traffic and harms the climate. The quality of life decreases. Lost apartments also make the remaining living space more expensive for everyone.
• Destroying living space exacerbates the housing shortage
  In recent years, the University Hospital has only built apartments on the outskirts of the city. Essentially as a replacement for apartments near the city center that have already been abolished. This is inadequate and hardly creates any additional living space. Certainly not affordable rental apartments, as they exist in the existing housing stock. At the same time, it uses up the few vacant areas near the city where additional affordable apartments could be built. All in all, the housing market will be under pressure.
• There are alternatives to the hospital board's plans
  The existing housing must be preserved. The representatives of the citizens' petition have tried without success to convince the city and the university hospital of this objective in talks. The University Hospital must constantly adapt and modernize. To this end, large areas are being made available to it on the former campus of the Faculty of Philosophy, just a few hundred meters away. There is therefore no need to convert the existing residential buildings in the hospital district.

It is up to you to decide how our city is shaped! We as citizens of Erlangen say clearly:

The city must act. It must protect the apartments in the hospital district. The more than 150 apartments for nursing staff and trainees are particularly important. The city has the means to do this - for example with urban land-use planning. This can save a lot of money instead of having to create expensive living space later on.

Let's protect the apartments - for affordable housing in Erlangen.