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Department of Social Sciences
Four people are sitting at a desk writing something on a poster. There are also pencils and a cup on the table. © Pixabay
Project funded by the German Research Association

Private small-scale landlords in Germany: Social situations, attitudes, and action patterns

As the largest group of housing providers in Germany, it is surprising that there is little known about small-scale landlords, even in times of heated public debate on rising rents and their social consequences, including inequality dynamics. This study aims to address this gap by exploring the settings, motives, challenges and attitudes that characterise landlords in their respective social situation.

Our interst: In our mixed-method research, we observe the largest provider group of dwellings in Germany: private small-scale landlords. The study aims to identify their

  • motives,
  • experiences, routines and challenges,
  • (housing) attitudes and
  • perceptions of the landlords’ role.

Our perspective: From an inequality perspective, we want to identify various types of landlords regarding their social position and letting conditions. This allows us to move beyond the narrow confines of the landlord stereotype, which often depicts them as either greedy or bad. It also challenges the assumption that letting is a poverty-avoidance strategy for the elderly. Our research is framed by conflict theory. We see tenancy as a relationship of dependency that is interwoven with the constitution of structures of inequality. In addition, we contribute to the research on specific wealth components and their practical social meanings in day-to-day life.

Our methods: Besides qualitative, guideline-based interviews, we evaluate various quantitative secondary data sets (Socio-Economic Panel, Household and Financial Consumption Survey) and create our own questionnaire for the GESIS panel. 

 

Four little fishes and one big shark with houses on their backs

Research Team

Head Prof. Dr. Nicole Burzan
Responsible research associate Philipp Kadelke
Student assistant Claudio Möller


 

Publications

2024 Kadelke, Philipp: At home in the upper strata: social positions of small-scale landlords in a European cross-country perspective. Culture, Practice & Europeanization, 9 (1), 66 – 90. Link
2023 Kadelke, Philipp: Private Kleinvermieter*innen in Deutschland. Ein Sozialprofil der größten Anbietergruppe auf dem Mietwohnungsmarkt. Easy Social Sciences (GESIS), Mixed , 1 – 11. Link
2023 Kadelke, Philipp: Landlords vs tenants = top vs bottom? Class positions in rental housing in Germany. Critical Housing Analysis, 10 (1), 66 – 76. Link
2023 Kadelke, Philipp: Private Vermieter*innen in Deutschland: Kleine Gruppe mit großer Wirkung, in: Villa Braslavsky, P.-I. (Ed.): Polarisierte Welten: 41. Kongresses der DGS 2022. Link

Submitted

2024 Kadelke, Philipp: Letting and inequality in Europe: small-scale landlords as a determinant of housing outcomes? In: Housing, Theory and Society. [Focus-Article]  

 

Presentations

 

2024 Sektionenkonferenz der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie (Osnabrück). Wohnabhängig statt lohnabhängig: Das Mietverhältnis als Klassenverhältnis? Link
2023 62. Deutscher Kongress für Geografie 2023 (Frankfurt am Main). Wer enteignet Familie Stuck? Die stillte Macht privater Kleinvermieter*innen von Wohnraum in Deutschland. Link
2022 41. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie 2022 (Bielefeld). Private Vermieter*innen in Deutschland: Kleine Gruppe mit großer Wirkung? Link

Project duration

04/2024 - 03/2027 (36 months)

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