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The housing careers of younger adults and intergenerational support in Germany’s ‘society of renters’

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  • Christian Lennartz
  • Ilse Helbrecht

Abstract

Through narrative interviews with younger adults and their parents, this paper explores how the housing transitions of younger adults, both within the rental sector and into homeownership, are shaped through intergenerational intra-family support in Germany’s society of renters. Our findings highlight the profound qualitative differences between regular transfers for establishing and retaining residential independence in the rental sector and inter vivos gifts for house purchase. Where the former support type is given and taken unconditionally, transfers for house purchase follow a different logic and carry different meanings. Being a necessary condition for property acquisition at young age, they have the power to completely rebalance family relations and undermine younger adults’ autonomy accordingly. In an aggregate perspective, our study further suggests increasing socio-spatial inequalities within the younger generation which run along both class and spatial origin, sharply dividing the housing market opportunities of ‘original Berliners’ and those who have moved to the city from more affluent regions in Germany.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Lennartz & Ilse Helbrecht, 2018. "The housing careers of younger adults and intergenerational support in Germany’s ‘society of renters’," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 317-336, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:chosxx:v:33:y:2018:i:2:p:317-336
    DOI: 10.1080/02673037.2017.1338674
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    Cited by:

    1. Sandra Krapf & Clara H. Mulder & Michael Wagner, 2022. "The Transition to a Coresidential Partnership: Who Moves and Who Has the Partner Move In?," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(2), pages 757-779, April.
    2. Vivien Burrows & Chris Lennartz, 2021. "The timing of intergenerational transfers and household wealth: too little, too late?," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2021-11, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    3. Kapelle, Nicole & Frémeaux, Nicolas & Lersch, Philipp M. & Leturcq, Marion, 2024. "The Cohabitation Wealth Premium in Context: Comparing France and Eastern and Western Germany," SocArXiv uz74e, Center for Open Science.

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