Mind the housing inclusion gap: The voice of people with disabilities in German housing politics

Abstract

Accessible housing is essential for disabled and elderly people with physical restraints to live independently. In reality, however, there is a considerable lack of accessible housing in Germany. While investigating the reasons for this insufficient supply, this article discusses the underlying policy mix and scrutinizes German accessible housing politics. Based on 50 semi-structured interviews in the two states Saxony-Anhalt and Hesse, it identifies the weak political influence of disability lobbyists as the primary reason. Lacking structural, organizational, and institutional power, they do not get access to decision-makers in housing politics but are labeled as social policy actors. On the other hand, housing and building industries have considerable resources to push their housing policy agenda. Nevertheless, the empirical findings clearly show the challenging endeavor of integrating social and building policies in accessible housing while contributing to the overarching understanding of politics in minor policy fields.