Press release

Survey: Half of Germany's tenants don't know their neighbours

Hamburg (10 December 2014) - Germany's tenants are shy of meeting other people. Instead of a conversation in the hallway or parties together in the yard, Germans prefer to withdraw into their own four walls. Only about a third (35 percent) want closer contact with their neighbours. And half don't even know their next-door neighbours. And yet the vast majority are happy with their neighbours, a population-representative survey of 1,000 tenants in Germany by TAG Immobilien AG together with the Technical University of Darmstadt found.

Women and men apparently share the wish for anonymity, with women knowing their neighbours only marginally better than men. Nevertheless, 63 percent rate their neighbourhood as good or excellent. Only seven percent describe relations with neighbours as poor or very poor. Only 22 percent experience frequent or occasional conflict in their residential area. And only one in eight says they do not get on with their neighbours.

"Germany is split when it comes wanting to be close acquaintances with their neighbours," says Claudia Hoyer, the TAG Executive Board member responsible for real estate management. "While half prefer to withdraw, the other half knows their neighbours well." TAG Wohnen in Erfurt and Döbeln hosts neighbourhood festivals or provides community gardens for young and old to take tenants out of their anonymity and strengthen a sense of community. "This is important alone for the reason that elderly people are increasingly living on their own," said Hoyer. Alarmingly, nearly 60 percent of the tenants surveyed believe that no one in their neighbourhood would notice anything if someone needed help in their flat.

In cooperation with the AWO Kreisverband Salzgitter-Wolfenbüttel e.V., TAG initiated a project called 'Testing new ways of life for women with immigrant backgrounds', that gives women from immigrant backgrounds an opportunity to attend German courses in the immediate vicinity of their homes. According to the Braunschweig Chamber of Industry and Commerce, embedding the language courses in their immediate residential area is an important contributor to the women's learning curve because it circumvents barriers such as lack of mobility. In fact, the Braunschweig Chamber of Industry and Commerce awarded the project its Social Transfer Prize, which each year recognises outstanding community involvement by local companies.

"In an aging society, social commitment, neighborhood assistance and interaction between generations is very important," says Professor Dirk Schiereck of the Technical University of Darmstadt. The real estate expert recommends that tenants and housing developers alike build up networks, because for tenants direct contact with their neighbours is often sufficient. The survey also shows that 81 percent of respondents would offer their support if a neighbour needed help. Women (84 percent) are more willing to help than men (78 percent).

About TAG Immobilien AG
TAG Immobilien AG an MDAX-listed company with a more than 125-year history. Its primary locations are in the Greater Hamburg and Berlin areas, the Salzgitter region, as well as Thuringia / Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. TAG currently manages about 74,000 dwellings and the associated commercial areas, garages and parking spaces. The company's goal is to improve the quality of housing for its tenants. In line with this, TAG adapts its holdings to modern living needs to, gets involved in the communities of its residential quarters, and promotes a good neighbourhood spirit. The Group continually reduces vacancy and increasing the value of its total portfolio through prudent management of its properties and a future-oriented/forward-looking development of its overall portfolio.

Press enquiries:
TAG Immobilien AG
Head of Investor & Public Relations
Dominique Mann
Phone +49 (0) 40 380 32 300
Fax +49 (0) 40 380 32 390
prtag-agcom