Urban Quality of Life

In the “Mercer Quality of Living Ranking 2024”, which studied the quality of life in cities all over the world, five German cities were among the top 30

• Frankfurt am Main (7)
• Munich (11)
• Düsseldorf (16)
• Berlin Berlin Once a year, during the Berlinale film festival, the world of the silver screen focuses its attention on Berlin. And the city’s inhabitants are used to global interest. After all, the people of Berlin have lived in a capital city since 1458. However, there is also a shady side to the city’s history… Read more › (19)
• Hamburg Hamburg In the city and state of Hamburg it is the port that is the power-house of the economy, though with Airbus, Otto Versand and Beiersdorf also located here, this is not immediately apparent. The tanker terminals, mean that almost all the major oil-refining companies are represented in the port. For… Read more › (28)

Germany has 80 cities with a population of more than 100,000 and 626 medium-sized towns with between 20,000 and 99,999 inhabitants; around three quarters of Germans already live in towns and cities. However, experts are discussing whether the pronounced trend towards urban living may be slowing, at least temporarily. Given the many new flexible ways of working, such as working from home, it may become less of a priority for many people to live close to their workplace.

The demand for housing in urban areas has led to a sharp rise in rents for renters starting new contracts, as well as significant increases in property prices. The ownership rate in Germany is 41.9%, with most people having to pay rent. On average, around 24% of income goes on rent or mortgage payments. This is why the Federal Government Federal Government The Federal Government and cabinet is made up of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. While the Chancellor holds the power to issue directives, the ministers have departmental powers, meaning that they independently run their respective ministries in the framework of those directives… Read more › has extended the rent cap until 2029 so as to preserve social diversity in areas with a tight housing market. Thanks to the rent cap, federal states Federal states Germany is a federal state. Both the central federal government and the 16 federal states have independent areas of jurisdiction. The government in Berlin is responsible for foreign policy, European policy, defense, justice, employment, social affairs, tax and health. The federal states are… Read more › can specify areas where landlords may not increase rents by more than 10% more than a comparable home when renewing a tenancy.

There are high levels of demand for housing in many regions. In response, the Federal Government Federal Government The Federal Government and cabinet is made up of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. While the Chancellor holds the power to issue directives, the ministers have departmental powers, meaning that they independently run their respective ministries in the framework of those directives… Read more › has launched a “construction turbo” programme designed to simplify and accelerate planning processes at municipal level. The idea is for this to create more affordable housing. 3.5 billion euros in federal funding is being made available to build social housing in 2025, with 500 million euros of this total to be spent on housing for young people.