Housing in an Immigration Society: More than a roof over one’s head

Access to affordable housing is key to social participation. But on the housing market in many German cities, demand is increasing while supply stagnates. The Expert Council on Integration and Migration (SVR) in Berlin has today published the English Summary of its Annual Report 2026, “Room for Development: Housing and Participation in an Immigration Society”.How do people live and how is this affected by their migration background? How does housing influence access to the labour market and education, and how does it affect social interactions? Finally, what does this tell us about potential policy options for migration, integration and housing?

Berlin, 30 June 2026. Germany is a country of tenants, with over half of all people living in rented accommodation. “Anyone with a tenancy agreement enjoys the protection of Germany’s strong social tenancy laws. But for those who are new to the housing market, either because they are immigrating to, or because they want to move within Germany, it is a challenge to find affordable housing. Families and low-income individuals are particularly affected, and people with a migration background are on average more likely to fall into these categories,” says Professor Winfried Kluth, the SVR’s chairperson, at the presentation of the 2026 annual report. “These structural barriers are exacerbated by a lack of affordable housing, which in turn restricts people’s mobility.”

At the end of 2024, around 83.6 million people were living in Germany, 3.8 million more than at the end of 1990. This population growth is attributable exclusively to immigration from both the European Union and third countries. At the same time, the trend towards single-person households has continued. But the supply of housing in Germany has not kept pace with these developments, particularly in densely-populated areas and economically strong rural regions. “The gap between supply and demand is leading to distributional conflicts, and the resulting bottlenecks can hit people with a migration background particularly hard. Often, their incomes are lower than those of people without a migration background. If they are new to Germany, they are entering the housing market for the first time,” says Professor Kluth. “The lack of affordable housing is now also affecting the recruitment of workers, whether they are skilled or unskilled.” The SVR Annual Report 2026 thus focuses on the relationship between housing and migration in Germany as a society characterised by immigration. It describes empirical findings on the housing situation of people with and without a migration background and analyses the causes and contexts of specific inequalities, such as the current regulations that govern the housing of refugees.

Differences in housing patterns: socio-economic factors matter more than where someone comes from

The SVR Annual Report 2026 shows that there are number of differences between the housing conditions and settlement patterns of people with a migration background and people without. On average, people with a migration background have less living space per person and are more likely to live in overcrowded dwellings. They are less likely to own their home, and at the same time they have to spend a higher proportion of their income on housing costs. Foreigners are also disproportionately affected by homelessness compared to their share of the total population. People with a migration background also often live in cities, and urban areas tend to play a special role for them as places of arrival and residence. But these are also areas where the housing market is more likely to be under strain. “The reasons for differences in settlement patterns are above all socio-economic factors such as income, education and occupational status,” explains the SVR’s deputy chairperson, Professor Birgit Glorius. “For families and low-income individuals, finding affordable housing is especially challenging. People with a migration background are more likely to fall into these categories, and they often also experience discrimination on the housing market. Studies have shown that this includes racial discrimination.” Newly-immigrated people are often faced with further barriers to renting a home, such as an uncertain residence status, limited language skills or a lack of networks.

The Annual Report 2026 shows that ethnic segregation – that is, the spatial concentration of immigrants and their descendants – is low in Germany compared to other countries and has tended to decline in recent decades. “But at the same time, social segregation – the spatial concentration of low-income individuals – has increased. Rich and poor tend to live among themselves. This is in part linked to increased immigration into poorer neighbourhoods or municipalities. New immigrants tend to be in a worse economic position shortly after their arrival; this means that poverty and immigration are increasingly found together,” says Professor Kluth.

The SVR recommends focusing on neighbourhoods where immigration and poverty coexist, and preventing social segregation

“Neighbourhoods characterised by migration can offer a stable local infrastructure, and a supportive environment for arrival and social participation. In contrast to what is often assumed, such neighbourhoods do not in themselves hinder integration. But the entanglement of poverty and immigration in certain neighbourhoods can significantly impact integration and participation. It can also make social coexistence more difficult, and in the worst-case scenario, trigger a downward spiral. These neighbourhoods can and must be actively managed. They must be prioritised in social and integration policy interventions, as well as in urban development,” says Professor Glorius, whose background is in human geography. “Home is more than just the roof over one’s head. The home is usually the physical centre of a person’s life, and it is also a place of social interaction. People meet each other in their neighbourhood and support each other, although it can also be a place where conflicts arise. The immediate neighbourhood is especially important for individuals and families affected by poverty. They depend on their neighbourhood more than people who have access to a variety of different social environments,” adds the professor.

“A functioning local authority, along with local public services and a corresponding social infrastructure, are especially important in poorer neighbourhoods. Investment in well-equipped nurseries, schools and health and leisure facilities should be a priority. This benefits everyone in the neighbourhood,” notes Professor Glorius. To prevent distributional conflicts and social tensions, a neighbourhood-based community management scheme can be of great help. It can connect public-sector and civil society actors, coordinate services and create opportunities for people to meet. Housing companies, educational institutions and local associations, including migrant organisations, make an important contribution to neighbourly coexistence. The SVR recommends that they should be included in neighbourhood work.

“Local authorities can counteract social segregation with intelligent urban development policies and through supporting social housing,” adds Professor Kluth. Vienna is a good example, showing that public housing construction based on the ideal of the common good can prevent segregation. In Germany, the “New Affordable Housing” legislation from January 2025 has been creating the conditions necessary for this to happen. Kluth explains: “Problems on the housing market, such as unequal access and supply-side problems with affordable housing, are far and away more likely to result from general social issues than from migration per se, and thus they can seldom be resolved through migration policy alone.”

Affordable housing is a key factor in attracting international skilled workers, and this needs to be acknowledged

The lack of affordable housing can make it difficult to recruit and retain international (skilled) labour from abroad, which Germany needs as a result of demographic change. “Foreign skilled workers are telling us that they urgently need support in finding housing,” says Kluth. “But the immigration of skilled workers can lead to higher prices and an even shorter supply of affordable housing. Employers can help here, too. For example, they can collaborate with housing developers or work together with housing associations to create homes for employees. But it is important to make sure that this happens in a way that does not lead to local people being displaced.”

The lack of affordable housing in economically strong regions and large towns and cities also makes it harder for families with a migration history to move to places with better employment prospects. “In very rural or structurally weak regions, housing is cheaper, but at the same time it is more difficult to find high-quality work and gain good qualifications. These regions also often suffer from a lack of good public transport links. Without access to public transport, it can be hard for refugees, for example, to successfully enter the labour market,” says Professor Glorius.

More recommendations from the SVR Annual Report 2026:

• Create new housing and help to reduce conflicts around distribution.
• Ensure that opportunities for children and young people are not dependent on their housing situation; use relevant social indicators to provide targeted support to schools and nurseries in challenging locations.
• Offer effective protection from housing market discrimination for immigrants and their descendants.
• Promote the integration of refugees, especially on the labour market, by using a more tailored distribution system.
• Ensure guaranteed standards in refugee housing.

You can download the SVR Annual Report Summary 2026, Core Messages and further information here.

The press release is available for download under this link.

For the German publications related to the SVR Annual Report 2026 please refer to this link.

Contact for media enquiries:
Heike Köhn
Communications Manager SVR gGmbH
Mobile phone: +49 (0) 170 635 7164
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About the Expert Council
The Expert Council on Integration and Migration is an independent and interdisciplinary body providing research-based policy advice.  Its reports aim to assist those bodies responsible for integration and migration policy, as well as the general public, in their opinion-forming processes.  The interdisciplinary Expert Council comprises a total of nine Researchers: Prof. Dr. Winfried Kluth (Chairperson), Prof. Dr. Birgit Glorius (Deputy Chairperson), Prof. Dr. Dr. Rauf Ceylan, Prof. Dr. Havva Engin, Prof. Dr. Marc Helbling, Prof. Dr. Irena Kogan, Prof. Sandra Lavenex, Ph. D., Prof. Dr. Annekatrin Niebuhr, Prof. Dr. Hannes Schammann.