Business Philosophy

As a residential real estate company, Vonovia is part of society. That’s why our activities are never focused exclusively on financial aspects, but also take social factors into account.

We are aware of the special role that we play. As a service provider and the provider of apartments for around one million people in Germany, our focus is on our tenants and their needs.

That’s why we maintain our buildings, attach great importance to good technical equipment and actively participate in shaping our neighborhoods. It is also why we are committed to offering contemporary apartments and developing services that offer better quality of living. And that’s why we are also addressing a social issue that is particularly important at the moment: the construction of new apartments.

But that’s not all, not by any means. We are committed to the principles of the social market economy and profitability and take responsibility for safe, good and affordable housing.
We communicate with our tenants as equals. We treat them fairly and equally and take care of their worries, needs and desires. Our rental prices are based on the usual local rents and – if available – on the qualified rent indices. We do not systematically convert apartments into condominiums in order to sell them.

Germany needs new apartments. Especially in its major cities, which are growing at an above-average rate. Vonovia is taking action and contributing to the construction of new housing.

We do not speculate with land for construction or with building permits but build new homes as soon as possible after obtaining a building permit. Wherever possible, we take advantage of public subsidy programs to build affordable housing. Our experience in social housing construction and our knowledge of cost-effective construction are valuable for this.

For example, we use innovative processes such as serial construction, in which prefabricated parts ensure shorter construction times and lower exposure to dust and noise on the construction site. We are also attempting to further limit rising construction costs by pooling purchasing resources and carrying out services that we provide ourselves.

Our society is getting older. More and more people in Germany are senior citizens.

That’s why we convert at least every third existing apartment that is newly rented to be senior friendly and ensure that vacant apartments are refurbished and spaces are redesigned to be fully accessible.

We do not want our tenants above the age of 70 to have to worry about their livelihoods due to rising rent levels. We really don’t want them to lose their homes with us. That’s why we offer them a guarantee that their apartment will continue to remain affordable even if the standard local comparative rents change. We support tenants who feel that their apartment is too large and would like to stay in their neighborhood, for example, by switching apartments.

In addition, we build and design existing apartments in a way that even groups with special needs – such as people with dementia – can feel at home here.