Fifty Shades of State: Quantifying Housing Market Regulations in Germany

Abstract

The paper aims at measuring the rental housing market regulations in Germany between 1913 and 2015. Four classes of housing policy are considered: Rent controls, tenant protection, rationing of housing, and fostering of social housing. Based on a thorough analysis of federal and regional legislation, for each class, an index is constructed, increasing in degree of regulation. The average of class-specific indices make up a composite index. The index reflects dramatic increases in regulations during and immediately after the World Wars. Likewise, the 2010s are characterized by a surge in virtually all classes of regulations in Germany related to the growing housing scarcity in large cities due to intra- and international migration leading to a geographical mismatch between housing supply and demand.