Homelessness | Berlin's Housing First: Successful, but at the limit

Housing First has existed in Berlin since 2018. The concept is successful, but the providers are reaching their capacity limits. Photo: IMAGO/Funke Photo Services “Everything is okay now,” says Ilie. He has had an apartment since May. His last name should not be mentioned. Ilie speaks at a press conference in the small rooms of the Phinove association in Pankow, to which the Senate Department for Social Affairs has invited. The reason is that the 350th tenant agreement for the Berlin Housing First projects was brokered on September 9th; one of them to Ilie.

Before Ilie and his family could call an apartment in Neukölln home, they had a long odyssey. Four years ago they came to Germany from Romania. He and his wife found work, but getting a normal rental agreement was impossible. They always found a place to stay on the gray housing market, in apartments with lots of other people, without a rental agreement and very expensive. "We were very stressed because of our child, who couldn't learn," he says. After the family had to leave their apartment three times, they finally came to a home and came across the Phinove association, which supported them. Now, with the apartment, they are doing much better, says Ilie.

Housing First is a concept developed in the USA that provides low-threshold housing for homeless people. In Berlin, this means that, unlike other emergency housing assistance offers, people without an apartment do not have to submit a complicated application but receive direct support. “We know how difficult it is to find living space in Berlin,” says Social Senator Cansel Kiziltepe (SPD). The concept is important because it changes perspective. There are many other offers for emergency housing assistance. But Housing First is different because it wants to bring people into housing without any conditions. “People should calm down and stabilize themselves so that they can then go their own way independently.”

»Housing is a human right. A social city must keep an eye on the people who have it the hardest.«

Housing First is a component of Berlin's social policy to combat homelessness. The country has actually set itself the goal of ending housing and homelessness by 2030. But we are still a long way from that. In January 2026, almost 60,000 people were housed. In addition, there are an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 people who live on the streets.

The concept started in Berlin in a pilot phase with two sponsors in 2018. “We are a pioneer and innovation laboratory in Germany for this concept against homelessness,” says the Social Senator. There are now six organizations that are funded by the Senate with a total of 3.6 million euros per year and each have specific target groups. The money was well invested, says Kiziltepe. “Housing First is aimed at people who would otherwise fall through the cracks.” The fact that the approach works is also shown by the housing stability: more than 90 percent of those placed stay in their apartment. »Housing is a human right. A social city must keep an eye on the people who have it the hardest," says the senator.

Anjes Sanogo leads the Housing First Queer project, which was launched in 2023. During this period, 49 people were placed in 46 apartments. In total we look after 50 people. “This puts us at the limit of our social work capacity,” says Sanogo. The project has five full-time positions for social workers. What is surprising at first glance is that it is not a lack of housing that limits further placement, but rather the lack of staff. Even if you place people in apartments, it takes several weeks of intensive social work just to organize job center changes, explains Sanogo.

“There is still a huge need,” says Sanogo. You get several requests every week that you have to reject. The social worker reports on an inquiry from last weekend that shows the special challenges her agency's target group, queer homeless people, face. The person making the request is a non-white trans woman and came to Berlin two years ago to transition. She is currently housed in a homeless shelter. But that is very stressful for the person. "She is seriously considering terminating the contract and going back on the streets," says Sanogo. She actually needs a safe place to live. “These are the requests that we have to reject right now.” Sanogo is promoting the expansion of Housing First so that such people can also be supported.

"Even if we were showered with money, we wouldn't be able to meet the needs."

Phinove provides apartments for families from other EU countries. Anna Hanf reports that since the start of the project, eleven families with a total of 42 people have been helped to get their own apartment. She remembers one case in particular: a family had lived in hidden homelessness for twelve years, i.e. staying with friends, relatives or elsewhere. Hanf also points out a fundamental problem: "Many emergency housing assistance facilities are overwhelmed with families." She also says that the need is actually much greater than what a small provider like Phinove can provide. "Even if we were showered with money, we wouldn't be able to meet the needs."

Even though there are six different providers, they do not compete with each other for apartments. We cooperate in the acquisition of apartments, says Anjes Sanogo. As a spokesman for the social administration explains, the largest cooperation partner in proportion is the real estate company Vonovia, followed by the state-owned housing companies and other private and church apartment owners. Sanogo explains that the companies are actually happy to be able to provide apartments in this way because they know that they always have a contact person in the provider.

When asked about future funding, Social Senator Kiziltepe cannot and does not want to commit herself. The poor budget situation is known and she cannot anticipate the coalition negotiations that will take place after the election. Her personal goal, however, is to bring Housing First out of the grant sector and into standard care. Then the approach would not be financed through time-limited funding, but would be based on need. Both Anna Hanf from Phinove and Anjes Sanogo from Housing First Queer can relate to this idea. But Hanf interjects: "If the help systems worked with a lower threshold, Housing First might not be needed in this form."

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