The pragmatic comeback of corporate rental housing

In a market plagued by housing shortages, rising rents, and labour shortfalls, a once-dormant model is being cautiously revived: employee housing. Known in Germany as Mitarbeiterwohnungen, the concept, familiar to many older workers from the 1970s, is undergoing a muted renaissance. From Wolfsburg to Berlin-Spandau, and from municipal waste firms to university hospitals, employers are once again offering staff an apartment alongside the job. But the question remains: is this simply a tactical patch for labour bottlenecks, or the early stirrings of a more institutionalised asset class?

At a recent RUECKERCONSULT webinar, housing and tax experts agreed: “Employee housing can be a good investment for employers and the real estate industry.” Dr. Magdalena Szablewska of the Freiburger Stadtbau (FSB) described how FSB has launched a model in which apartment blocks are built and sold turnkey to companies for employee use, with a bundled service package that includes rental management and maintenance, freeing the employer to focus on staff retention. As FSB's CEO Dr. Matthias Müller noted, the model is ‘efficient and scalable’, and has 'clear appeal to HR and finance teams.'

The motivations for the revival are clear enough. In cities where affordable rental housing is scarce and competition for skilled workers acute, offering accommodation has become a critical retention tool. Volkswagen Immobilien GmbH (VWI), the carmaker’s housing subsidiary, has added 237 units in its “Steimker Gärten” development in Wolfsburg, where it already controls over 9,500 apartment units. The company reports near full occupancy. VWI spokesman Tobias Fruh is blunt: housing availability is now an employer branding issue. And as Bernd Roese of PwC told Wirtschaftswoche recently,"The tight housing market in major German cities is jeopardising the economy. Affordable housing is becoming a location factor – one in three city dwellers has considered changing jobs."

Developers and investors taking note

Employees, existing and potential, are not alone. In Frankfurt, the city-owned waste utility FES is building 48 staff apartments. On Sylt, hospitality operators are constructing dormitory-style housing for seasonal workers. The Stuttgart University Hospital has completed 329 units for nurses, trainees and doctors in one development, with rents tiered to income.

According to a 2024 IW Köln study commissioned by the BBSR, around 5.2% of German companies already provide direct housing support—amounting to some 675,000 flats and hostel places—with a further 11.6% offering indirect help such as rental guarantees or relocation services. Yet only 17% of these firms are involved in building new stock, and that's often on a very small scale.

Much of the renewed interest is emerging from employers, but developers and institutional investors are starting to take note, with other structures going further. For example, real estate leasing and sale-and-leaseback options are gaining traction, particularly for medium-sized companies without in-house property expertise. As webinar panelist Klaus Busch, CEO of CoRE Solutions noted, such arrangements can keep housing assets off the balance sheet, preserve equity ratios, and defer taxes on capital gains - a compelling case for firms without in-house real estate teams. Minimum project sizes are typically around €10m, with lease terms of 20 years or more.

Taxation remains a key enabler. Since 2020, employer-provided housing has benefited from an exemption under Section 8 (2) sentence 12 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG), provided employees pay at least two-thirds of the market rent and the base rent does not exceed €25/m². A typical 100 m² flat rented for €700/month (plus €300 in ancillary costs) could generate a tax-free benefit of €440/month for the employee. Employers, in turn, reduce their ancillary wage costs, particularly social security contributions.

Further incentives arrived in 2025 with the reintroduction of a declining balance depreciation model (5% p.a. over six years), combined with special allowances for newly built rental apartments. Some tax advisors, such as Ulrich Creydt and Michael Schäfer of Ypsilon Steuerberatung, suggest separating residential assets into dedicated entities to optimise these benefits. However, many employers still shy away from becoming property operators.

The regulatory framework remains fragmented. A broad industry alliance—comprising BFW, GdW, ZDB, and the German Tenants’ Association (DMB), among others—has been lobbying for amendments to Section 7 (2) of the Federal Land Use Ordinance to permit residential construction in core commercial zones, as well as a VAT exemption for occupancy rights, additional depreciation schemes, and a special budget line for employee housing in federal and state subsidy programmes. So far, changes have been piecemeal.

Land scarcity adding complexity

Meanwhile, land remains a constraint. The business community is being encouraged to contribute underused or surplus operational plots, with several studies pointing to significant potential in urban brownfield sites. In Berlin-Spandau, the Job & Wohnen cooperative plans to build 130 units with a kindergarten and café, backed by eight SMEs. The project relies on serial timber-hybrid construction to keep build costs below €2,750/m² and aims for rents between €8.50 and €10.00/m². Still, even this pilot is grappling with unresolved leasehold terms, demonstrating the operational complexity of scaling such models.

For institutional investors, the opportunity is selective. This is not a high-yield play, nor a quick route to liquidity. But in locations where skilled labour and affordable housing are both in short supply, long-duration tenancy, stable rent cashflows, and ESG-aligned objectives may justify involvement. Structures involving real estate leasing, forward-sale to employer clients, or shared equity/co-op partnerships can limit downside while providing reputational upside and local political goodwill.

Yet volumes remain modest. RegioKontext estimates suggest around 10,000 employee housing units could be added per year under current conditions. That is hardly enough to move the dial in a country facing a deficit of over 700,000 units. But in the context of stagnating construction activity, it may be one of the few avenues where demand, land, and funding can still be brought together—albeit on a carefully curated, case-by-case basis.

For now, Mitarbeiterwohnungen remain a niche: no longer a relic, but not yet a market segment. Investors seeking scale, yield, or institutional core-style returns should look elsewhere. Those seeking stability, impact, and alignment with workforce infrastructure may find it worth a closer look.