Cold drama in Göttingen: Heating in the prefabricated building is defective – tenants suffer!

Cold drama in Göttingen: Heating in the prefabricated building is defective – tenants suffer!

In Göttingen, a neglected apartment block at Groner Landstrasse 9 is causing a stir. It's not just litter and social fraud that come together here, but also technical problems that severely impact the lives of the 700 residents. On one side there are broken elevators and rats, and on the other hand the heating system is broken. According to a report from the World More than 300 apartments are affected by the heating failure.

The first line of problems is the property management, which says there is a lack of financial resources to repair the broken pipes. The owner, Gänseliesel Wohn GmbH, is insolvent, as is the previous owner, Winteks GmbH. The confusing situation means that no service provider is willing to carry out the necessary work as long as payment is outstanding NDR confirmed.

How are the tenants dealing with the current situation? With an emergency measure, of course: They were provided with radiators to generate a little heat in the cold months. However, it should be noted that the additional costs for this electricity consumption appear in the operating cost bill. The situation is particularly precarious for the 145 tenants who are considered defaulters, many of whom receive citizen's benefit. There are again contradictions here, because the local tenants' association doubts the property management's argument that the lack of rental income is responsible for the repairs. Normally, the job center pays the rent directly to the landlord in order to avoid rent arrears.

Legal situation and city administration

The city administration emphasizes that turning off the heating is only legal if you owe rent or have been terminated. If defaulting tenants stay in the apartment, they should theoretically also receive a heater - but current practice says otherwise. These problems are not isolated; They show the deep cracks in the housing market, which were discussed a few years ago in a study commissioned by the “Social Housing” association. According to estimates, there is a shortage of around 550,000 apartments nationwide and an increasing demand for living space, which is continuously growing due to high levels of immigration bpb reported.

In Göttingen, the city administration is not idle. It is closely monitoring the situation and recently reached an agreement with the homeowners' association to maintain heat supply until the end of the heating season. However, it remains unclear whether the radiators provided are sufficient to withstand the cold periods. The known grievances - last identified in June 2025 - could lead to the house possibly being declared uninhabitable, even if there are no concrete plans for this yet.

The challenge of finding affordable housing is felt not only locally, but also nationally. With heavy construction activity and persistently high rents, many citizens are worried about the future. Given the high vacancy rate in rural areas and at the same time rising rents in large cities, the dilemma represents an urgent issue for politicians. Whether the city of Göttingen will be able to meet the challenges remains to be seen.