Who exactly do I actually pay my rent to? And who owns the flat I live in? These questions are not at all easy to answer in Germany, even though they clearly play a major role in the basic need for housing. And increasingly, the answer involves listed companies such as Vonovia, or other players in the capital and financial markets whose primary concern is profit maximisation. This is also evident in Leipzig and the Connewitz district: rents are rising, the social mix in the neighbourhood is changing, and luxury new-builds are springing up on many corners.
It was against this backdrop that the research project ‘Who owns Connewitz?’ was launched. Its aim was to bring greater transparency to the ownership structures in the neighbourhood and to find out how different types of landlords and landladies treat their tenants. That is why it has also worked in close collaboration with the local housing policy initiative ‘Vernetzung Süd’ to make its findings available with a view to improving the living conditions of local residents.
Between summer 2021 and spring 2023, these challenges were addressed using a variety of methods: a detailed mapping exercise covering almost 50 per cent of all residential units in Connewitz, 70 interviews with neighbours, six workshops on collective mapping, and a representative survey of 429 households.
The project has now been completed. The findings are summarised in the booklet ‘Who owns Connewitz?’, which was co-funded by the South District Advisory Board of the City of Leipzig and is specifically aimed at local residents. On 6 October 2026, we presented it to the public at UT Connewitz as part of a panel discussion. The brochure (in German) is available to download.
In addition, the project has resulted in two academic papers:
- Hof, D., Janoschka, M. & Strohdiek, M. (2026): Housing stratification and the politics of tenure: Socio-temporal inequalities in Leipzig. European Urban and Regional Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/09697764261424196
- Hof, D., Janoschka, M. (2026): Coping with financialisation. Understanding socio-emotional dynamics in urban housing markets. Cities. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2026.107153
The team was led by Prof. Dr Michael Janoschka (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), Dennis Hof (Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development) and Dr Alejandro Armas-Díaz (University of La Laguna, Tenerife), with student support from Marius Strohdiek, Lea Schirbel, Julie Kauke, Luise Postert and Sophie Tempelhoff from the University of Leipzig.
The project was based at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and at Transformative Bildung und Kultur e.V., and was co-funded by the South District Advisory Board of the City of Leipzig.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at michael janoschka∂kit edu.
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