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Results on buildings and dwellings are important for urban and regional planning

For studies of the housing situation of the population, it is necessary from time to time to get updated information on buildings and dwellings such as the year of construction, the size and equipment of residential buildings and dwellings, vacancy rates and owner-occupier rates. Such information is provided by the census of buildings and housing for all municipalities, parts of municipalities and streets. This is why those results are particularly important for the municipalities.

How much residential space is there in Germany?

First of all, the census results will show how many dwellings there really are in Germany – that information is not stored in any register. The last population census of 1987 demonstrated the extent to which data calculated between censuses can differ from reality. As the data available at the time were based on a census conducted in 1970, the number of dwellings had to be corrected substantially. In the former territory of the Federal Republic, there were one million fewer dwellings than had been calculated. The difference was larger than the entire stock of dwellings of Schleswig-Holstein in 1987.

Pictogram - Flats

Other results that are highly important for politicians and businesses are information on how dwellings are used such as owner-occupier rates and vacancy rates. How many dwellings are occupied by their owners, how many are let or are even vacant? These are important questions that can also be answered by the census of buildings and housing.

The results are the basis for future planning

The varied information on current housing structures by number, size, equipment and use of the dwellings will be the basis for future planning. It is used by politicians and businesses as a starting point for many housing policy measures such as promotion of housing construction, privatisation of dwellings or demolition programmes. The dwelling size can also be used for projections of whether a specific town will need more small or large dwellings in the future, taking account of the demographic development.

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