The German city of Dresden has purchased 1,213 apartments of various sizes from privately-owned housing company Vonovia for €87.8 mln.
The new owner of the apartments will be Wohnen in Dresden (WiD), a city-owned housing company. The purchase still needs to be approved by the Dresden City Council.
The sales price includes 12 hectares of undeveloped land in the districts of Neustadt and Prohlis, where up to 1,800 more apartments could be built in the future.
For tenants, the sale will not affect their tenancy agreements, rent, or notice periods.
The property transfer to WiD is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.
Dirk Hilbert, the mayor of Dresden, said: ‘With concluding this purchase, we are more than doubling Dresden’s Council housing stock while at the same time securing significant amounts of land for future housing developments in our city. We’ll secure planning permissions there so that we can meet the growing demand for housing in the future.’
Rolf Buch, CEO of Vonovia, added: ‘By selling flats to the City Council, we are clearly demonstrating that we’re reliable and responsible in our partnership with Dresden. We’ve been working with the city in a spirit of trust for many years, developing neighbourhoods together and also acting as a point of contact for social issues such as homelessness. I am therefore particularly pleased that we can now put these flats in good hands and help Dresden to expand its housing stock.’
Steffen Jäckel, managing director of WiD, commented: ‘By purchasing these flats, we can more than double our current portfolio. For us, this will mean a major increase in administrative efficiency as well as a significant expansion in terms of flat sizes and locations.’
The purchase is part of a cooperation agreement that Dresden and Vonovia signed in April 2022.
The agreement focuses on three key areas: joint neighborhood development, climate strategy collaboration, and the city's purchase of apartments from Vonovia's portfolio.
The sale of the 1,213 apartments is a significant milestone in this cooperation, and it will help to increase Dresden's own housing stock.
Vonovia’s residential units in Dresden are managed by Sebastian Krüger.
