Overview

• A broad alliance led by the 'Wir wollen Wohnen' coalition plans coordinated actions in more than 20 North Rhine-Westphalian cities, with the SPD opposition backing a stronger Mietpreisbremse and a state housing company.
• According to Empirica data cited by the coalition, rents in most major NRW cities have jumped by more than 20% since 2021.
• Tenant advocates call for city authorities to enforce rent rules more actively, including reviewing listings for illegal pricing and pursuing cases of alleged sham 'Eigenbedarf' evictions and luxury modernizations.
• The social housing stock has fallen to about 422,000 units from 1.3 million in 1990, and roughly 40% of the remainder will lose rent-price binding by 2030, according to NRW-Bank calculations.
• Welfare organizations highlight more than 122,000 people registered as homeless in NRW, including around 9,700 sleeping rough, and urge occupancy quotas for homeless households and stronger emergency services.