Germany: Seniors Moved Out to Make Room for Refugees

The German city of Bargteheide has scrapped plans to demolish a senior citizens’ residential complex on Nelkenweg after vacating all residents, opting instead to house asylum seekers in the building.

Former residents had been told the building was uninhabitable and were forced to relocate. However, following an inspection, just five units will undergo renovation, while the remainder will be used as-is by the new arrivals.

As reported by Abendblatt, Mayor Gabriele Hettwer defended the decision, saying all cost-related issues had been resolved and that a full renovation was unnecessary. “The costs for the removal of mold and other renovation measures are manageable,” she said, noting that a preliminary building application would determine whether the entire complex could eventually be used.

The move, however, has drawn sharp criticism from members of the SPD parliamentary group, who had supported the original eviction of elderly residents on the grounds that the buildings were unfit for habitation. “I have seen for myself what a bad condition the buildings are in,” said SPD council member Andreas Bäuerle. His colleague Jörg Rehder added, “The decision has an unpleasant taste.”

He pointed out that while the city directly financed the relocations of elderly tenants, it now appeared eager to move refugees into the same housing it had deemed unsuitable.

CDU council member Sven Meding dismissed the SPD’s concerns as political posturing. “I sometimes wonder if it’s election campaign again. Should we accommodate the refugees in tents?” he asked. “The apartments on Nelkenweg are well habitable.”

It would appear that no one on the municipal council had an issue with the fact that the elderly residents were not welcomed to return to their homes following the building’s inspection, and it would now hold asylum seekers.

Many former residents had expressed their desire to remain in their homes.

“I feel very comfortable here and have lived here for 20 years,” senior citizen Frieda Miller told SHZ previously. “I’m good here, here I have my home, my flowers, a nice apartment that I can pay for.”

“The apartment is really well designed, everything can be reached from here, and there is also a lot of nature. I would like to stay here,” added fellow resident Dagmar Pardubitzki.

Mayor Hettwer stated that the use of the complex is temporary but refused to give a timeframe. She added that the city was deliberately creating more refugee housing than currently needed, to prepare for potential increases in migration. “The developments are currently declining because the regulations at the borders are stricter,” she said. “But it is like looking into a crystal ball to estimate the flows of the day after tomorrow.”

Although only 40 additional places were technically required, the Nelkenweg complex provides 104. According to the mayor, this allows the city to better absorb any unexpected influxes.

Supporters of the plan also point to challenges with other housing providers, who resist open-ended rental agreements and frequently let leases expire to retain flexibility over their properties. In contrast, the Nelkenweg site offers immediate and potential long-term availability.

The city council ultimately voted in favor of the measure, with support from the CDU, Greens, and WfB. The SPD cast the only three votes against.

Relocation or eviction of elderly tenants to make room for migrants is not new across Germany. In 2023, Remix News reported how a Berlin nursing home had closed its doors to its residents after signing a new contract to accommodate refugees.

Similarly, in Lörrach, the city’s municipal housing association evicted dozens of long-term residents , many of them senior citizens, to accommodate migrants.

When the public protested against the decision, the city’s council published a statement claiming that demonstrations were led by right-wing extremists and called for a “fight against the right.”