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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 DFG

Private landlords in Germany: Social situations, positioning, and courses of action

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

Brief description

In the course of our research, we observed the largest provider group of dwellings in Germany: private small-scale landlords. The study aims to identify the

  • motives,
  • experiences, routines and challenges,
  • attitudes and
  • perceptions of the landlords’ important role.

From an inequality perspective, we seek to identify the various types of landlords in relation to specific living conditions. This approach 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. With a perspective grounded in theories of social inequality, we direct our attention to the potential for conflict inherent in tenancy relationships and to real estate as a distinctive component of wealth. 

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. Available from 06/2024.  
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

 

 

Presentations

 

2024 Sektionenkonferenz der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie (Osnabrück), Panel: Neue Perspektiven auf Klasse und Eigentum. Link
2023 62. Deutscher Kongress für Geografie 2023 (Frankfurt am Main), Session: Vergesellschaftung der Daseinsvorsorge.  Link
2022 41. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie 2022 (Bielefeld), Session: Druck auf dem Wohnungsmarkt.  Link


 

Project duration

04/2024 - 03/2027 (36 months)

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