Tuesday, 29 July
Berlin forecasts significant increase in homelessness by 2029
The number of homeless people in Berlin has doubled in just three years, and the Senate now expects a further 60% increase by the end of the decade.
According to a new forecast from the city’s social affairs department, more than 85,600 people will be without housing by 2029. That’s up from just under 26,000 in 2022, and more than 53,600 this year. These figures refer to individuals officially housed in shelters, hostels or emergency accommodation by Berlin’s districts – not including those temporarily staying with friends or family, or living on the streets.
When broader categories are included—such as refugees in state-run housing centres or people living in emergency accommodation facilities like Tegel—the total number of individuals requiring housing could reach nearly 115,000 by 2029.
According to the Social Services Administration, “homelessness” includes three groups: those placed in temporary accommodation by the city, those living unofficially with friends or family, and those without any shelter at all.
The city only began systematically tracking these numbers in 2022. A new federal survey published every two years will now supplement this data with national figures on undocumented homelessness.
What these numbers point to is not a temporary crisis, but a deepening structural failure.
