Tutow is pitching in: Vacancies in GDR blocks should disappear!

Tutow is pitching in: Vacancies in GDR blocks should disappear!

In the small community of Tutow in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, there is an urgent problem on the agenda: more than a third of the apartments on Pommernring are empty. The municipality has now commissioned a feasibility study to get to the bottom of the plight of the GDR apartment blocks built in the 1980s. This study costs around 35,000 euros and is entirely funded by the community. Mayor Holger Schulz expressed optimism about the coming changes and the results of this investigation are expected in spring 2026.

The five apartment blocks in Tutow accommodate a total of 207 apartments. While two blocks in the center of the village are almost fully occupied, three blocks on the outskirts of the former airfield are empty. Around 35 percent of the apartments here are unused. The blocks have hardly undergone any renovations since they were built, which results in high maintenance costs for the community.

A historical look at housing construction

To better understand the background, it is worth taking a look at the history of housing construction in Germany. After the Second World War, the housing situation throughout the country was catastrophic. There was a shortage of around 5.5 million places in the western zones alone. The situation in the GDR was not much better: over 500,000 apartments were destroyed by the war, and in 1946, of the 4.6 million existing apartments, only around 3.97 million were usable. The GDR pursued a socialist housing policy that declared housing provision to be a public task. Despite an ambitious housing construction program decided by the SED in 1973 and aimed at solving the housing shortage by 1990, the actual building needs were only inadequately covered. Around 2.1 million apartments were built between 1971 and 1989, but demand remained high, meaning that a total of around 770,000 people were looking for housing at the end of the 1980s.

The feasibility study planned by the municipality of Tutow is a step towards meeting the challenges of this history. Possible measures could include the demolition of entire blocks or at least partial dismantling. The unused space of the empty blocks is not only significant, but also represents an economic burden that costs the community five-figure amounts every year.

A look at the future

The results of the feasibility study could be crucial for redesigning the housing offering in Tutow. The challenges are many, but the community appears determined to face them. Like many rural regions in eastern Germany, Tutow is also confronted with a tense market situation. Rural areas are often considered less attractive, while metropolitan areas are overcrowded. A process that not only affects housing construction, but also the municipal infrastructure and the quality of life of citizens.

The approaches to sustainable and contemporary housing development in Tutow could serve as an example for other communities in a similar situation. The history of the GDR apartment blocks is a chapter in itself and will remain interesting and relevant in the context of current challenges.