Providing affordable housing built to a high standard for all generations and social strata: this was the declared aim when Monheimer Wohnen GmbH was established in 2017 as a one-hundred percent subsidiary of the City of Monheim, after the members of Monheim's City Council had created the formal basis for the foundation. Planning procedures and the start of construction followed. Now, the first units will soon be ready for rental.

The actual construction of a good 470 new homes in the two neighborhood communities is in full swing. 30 percent of the units are subsidized homes. The "Unter den Linden" project in the Berlin Quarter will make the start: the first 93 units will probably be ready for the tenants to move in by September1, 2021, with another 140 ready from February 1, 2022, if all goes according to plan. The basic rents range between 9.25 and 10 Euros per square meter for the privately financed units and 6 Euros per square meter for the subsidized apartments. All 11 blocks containing the apartments include underfloor heating, cellar space, bicycle cellars, walk-in showers, and elevators. The ground-floor tenants have garden access, and the upper floor apartments have balconies and terraces. Plenty of play areas and parking spaces have been planned.

Tenant selection after multi-stage examination procedure

Tenancy of these popular apartments with floor areas between 43 and 125 square meters is given on the basis of a multi-stage examination procedure. The Monheimer Wohnen housing company attaches particular value to supporting families with children and people with urgent needs for barrier-free housing. Preference is also given to people already living in Monheim or whose job is here. Particular attention is given to urgent special social emergency situations, such as when people have lost their home through no fault of their own or have been forced to flee to women's refuges and urgently need new accommodation. Unborn babies are counted as a family member of expectant mothers.

The sequence of incoming applications is not a deciding factor

More information about the award procedure can be found on www.monheimer-wohnen.de. The application form can be downloaded from the website as of now. It contains all the questions necessary to ensure a fair tenant selection procedure. It is also available from the Municipal Services Office (Bürgerbüro) at the City Hall. Completed applications can then be submitted by email to info@monheimer-wohnen.de or posted in the City Hall post box. Please note that the sequence of incoming applications is not a relevant tenancy acceptance criterion. "All correctly completed applications for the first 93 apartments submitted by the March 15 deadline will be processed on an equal footing," insists Daniel Fieweger, Commercial Director and authorized representative of Monheimer Wohnen, who is now beginning the marketing and management of the units with a freshly assembled team. His promise: "We will actively approach all the applicants who have submitted their forms to us. Any follow-up in writing or by telephone by prospective tenants will do nothing to accelerate the process. Clearly, the demand will exceed supply, especially at the beginning. All prospective tenants who are awarded one of the first 93 units will be notified in good time so that they can comply with the usual three-month period of notice for their previous home when moving to Monheim."

Apartments in Baumberg in preparation

Concurrently with the total of 233 units in the "Unter den Linden" neighborhood, the "Europaallee" development in Baumberg east is now under construction. Thirty-one apartments in three residential blocks and a children's daycare center are expected to be completed for occupancy in the spring of 2022. Another development in the suburb of Baumberg called the "Sophie Scholl Quarter" is currently in planning. At present, the plans comprise 203 housing units and a children's daycare center to the north of Holzweg-Passage. All three new housing communities will have underground garage parking and bring high-quality affordable, up-to-date modern housing to Monheim am Rhein, just as Monheimer Wohnen intended when it sets itself these goals.