Inquired by the city council: From where do calculations on the housing predicament in impoverished neighborhoods originate?

In a significant move towards addressing the housing and electricity costs for social welfare recipients, the Leipzig city council has agreed to collect the necessary data. The decision, which received a clear majority of 50:0 votes, was approved by Mayor Enrico Stange.

The need for this data has been a topic of discussion for years, as the city council has been considering it as a potential means to counteract the costs of accommodation (KdU). The Left faction, in particular, has been advocating for more reliable data on the housing situation of benefit communities.

The job center in Leipzig is now attempting to gather data on recognized and actual living costs, rent reduction requests, moves, and non-moves due to unreasonable living costs. Additionally, they will collect information on benefits for the repayment of electricity debts to prevent electricity disconnections.

The data collected will be reported to the specialist committees for social affairs, health and diversity, and economics, work, and digitalization. The Left faction has also requested data on case numbers for electricity debts (by size classes), electricity disconnections, and assumption or loans for the repayment of electricity debts.

However, there is a concern that this digitalization initiative may ignore the actual needs of users, reflecting a classic example of German digitalization. There is no specific information available about what the Leipzig city administration has done so far to collect the detailed data on the housing situation of social welfare recipients requested by the Left party faction.

The vacancy rate in Leipzig is below 2 percent, making affordable housing scarce. Only around 500 apartments in the KdU cost range were available for possible moves by affected persons in 2024. The Left faction emphasized that without a reliable data basis, no meaningful decisions can be made on the costs of accommodation.

By the end of the third quarter, the mayor will evaluate which information can be provided from the existing data set. The results will be included in the city of Leipzig's social report. This initiative is a step towards ensuring that social welfare recipients are not left in the dark about their housing and electricity costs, and it is hoped that it will lead to more informed decision-making and improved living conditions for those in need.

Inquired by the city council: From where do calculations on the housing predicament in impoverished neighborhoods originate?