TIROLER DAILY NEWSPAPER “Editorial” from July 8, 2023 by Peter Nindler “Housing Not”

2023-07-07 22:30:29

Innsbruck (OTS) – Thousands of Tyrolean families can hardly afford to live, but in Innsbruck 3000 apartments are empty. Homelessness is becoming a structural problem because the open housing market is no longer affordable for many.

There is a structural housing shortage in Tyrol. But that is not synonymous with a general failure of politics. In contrast to other federal states, Tyrol still has well-endowed and functioning housing subsidies; this year alone, the state is promoting housing projects with no less than 240.2 million euros. Nevertheless, all subsidies and relief packages for housing and rent subsidies come up once morest a bitter reality: social housing is reaching its limits. He can no longer cope with the ever-increasing number of people looking for an apartment who can no longer afford the rents on the private housing market.
It must put a wealthy country like Tyrol to shame when more than 100 women with 90 children are urgently looking for an apartment. And a third of all residents of the emergency shelters have money, but not enough for affordable housing. Hence the outcry from the social associations that homelessness in Tyrol is no longer a social fringe phenomenon. The 3,000 vacant apartments in Innsbruck are the crowning glory of the growing housing shortage. This makes the helplessness of politicians in the metropolitan areas even more visible. Well-organized housing subsidies can alleviate the symptoms, but in no way effectively combat the causes of expensive housing.
The dedication and land policy should therefore be reconsidered, and every attempt to dig for concrete gold with land and soil should be prevented. This also includes the municipal development plans, a vacancy tax and a rigorous approach to hidden tourist rentals via booking platforms such as
Airbnb. The rethinking has already begun, but it is not yet taking hold. Politicians have been sleeping for too long, talking regarding affordable housing, but doing too little regarding it.
142 communities alone must now finally identify reserved areas, from the dedicated building land the municipalities only dedicated 2.9 hectares as reserved areas for subsidized housing last year. Another problem, because 3500 hectares of building land are fallow. This is speculated to drive the land prices further up.
The black and red state government is going into the summer break with a heavy backpack: the renovation of the community association company GemNova, the community of Matrei in Osttirol or the controversial hydrogen train in the Zillertal may trigger political hot flashes. The real problems, however, are inflation and affordable housing. The latter for years.

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