The joint building venture kobl is constructing a cooperative rental house in the newly developing Elbinselquartier.
In our community, we want to interact with each other in a spirit of solidarity, consideration, and appreciation. We place value on staying in dialogue with one another while also allowing each other personal space. It is important to us to actively contribute to a lively and supportive neighborhood – even beyond our housing project.
We want to create affordable living space for as many people as possible. That is why we are implementing our project as a cooperative and are raising direct loans. The rents are based on our incomes. Both the construction of our house and the future rents are co-financed by the city. In the construction process, we are supported by Stattbau and the architects from kbnk.
Currently, we are a group of about 20 people, and we are constantly growing. In the end, 50-70 people will move into our house. We are in different stages of life, have a variety of professions and interests. What unites us is the desire to create living space that is not only affordable but also allows us to shape a communal life together.
We are not only building our house ourselves but also managing it. We will be both tenants and landlords at the same time. It’s a lot of work, but also an opportunity to create a very special form of community.
You can learn more about our values in our mission statement.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for people of all generations, life situations, and cultural backgrounds. However, since our project is part of social housing, we must meet certain guidelines set by the Hamburg Investment and Promotion Bank (IFB). This includes maintaining specific proportions of income groups, known as “Fallgruppen” within our community. You can find out which fall groups we are currently looking for and how to determine which group you belong to after the FAQ.
Where and how are we going to life?
We are building as part of the International Building Exhibition (IBA) in the new Elbinselquartier. The Elbinselquartier is being developed in the heart of Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg, between the Aßmann Canal and the Jaffe-Davids Canal. In this new district, cars will play a minor role; instead, the IBA aims to make the area particularly attractive for cyclists and expand public transportation. Many green spaces, parks, sports facilities, and educational institutions are also planned. Additionally, the district will be built as sustainably as possible, with solar panels and district heating already included in the plans. You can learn more about the IBA’s plans for the new neighborhood here.
All building communities are encouraged to contribute to the district. For our part, we are planning a co-op to provide affordable staple foods for ourselves and our neighbors. We can also envision a space for musical events or a co-working space. Other building groups, for example, are planning movement spaces or self-help workshops.
We also want to design a rooftop terrace and a shared backyard with our direct neighbors.
We will build with minimal barriers and strive to accommodate as many different needs as possible. In addition to small apartments for individuals and large family apartments, we primarily want to create cluster apartments, where people have their own private spaces while sharing communal areas such living rooms or kitchens. This not only reduces costs but also fosters social interaction and ultimately provides more space for the things that truly matter.
The amount of square meters each household is allowed to occupy is determined by the guidelines of the IFB.
Household Size Number of People
Eligible Living Space
1
von 30 m² bis 50 m²
2
von 55 m² bis 60 m²
3
von 65 m² bis 75 m²
4
von 75 m² bis 90 m²
5
von 90 m² bis 105 m²
6
von 105 m² bis 120 m²
When is the house going to be finished?
In November 2021, the IBA launched the expression of interest procedure for the new Spreehafenquarier, Elbinselquartier and Rathausviertel neighbourhoods. At that time, an offshoot of the existing ‘Warderlüüd’ construction project in Wilhelmsburg applied for a plot of land. A lot has happened since then.
We came together as a group and found great partners in Stattbau as the construction management company and kbnk as the architecture firm. We didn’t really know what to expect and had to work hard and learn together. In the end, we also came up with our own name: ‘Warderlüüd 2.0’ became “kobl”. The official founding of the cooperative is planned for the beginning of 2025. This will be followed by the first workshops with our architects on the flat layouts.
The IBA’s current plan is for us to start construction in 2027 and move in in the first half of 2028.
What is all of this going to cost?
Our rents will be based on the individual income of each household. If a household earns little, the rent will be subsidised by the City of Hamburg. Net rents will range from around €7 per square metre (low income) to €16 per square metre (high income).
In addition, each household must purchase co-operative shares. These are also calculated per square metre. We are currently assuming around €800 per square metre. That is of course a lot of money all at once and we hope that we can reduce this sum through direct loans. Apart from that, there are various ways in which people can finance these shares, for example through the job centre or through a loan from the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). The topic of solidarity-based financing is very much on our minds and we are working on solutions in this regard.
For example, a household of 2 people would move into a 57 m² flat. If they earn little, they would pay around €399 in rent. If they earn a lot, they would pay around €912 in rent. In both cases, they would currently have to pay around €45,600 in co-operative shares.
Here is a collection of links and documents providing further information!
“Fallgruppen”
At the moment we are mainly looking for households of 1-2 who belong to case groups 1-3 of the IFB Hamburg guidelines. We are especially looking for people that are interested in living in cluster apartments.
The case groups are based on the percentage by which the household’s income exceeds the income limit of the Hamburg Housing Assistance Act.
case groups
Exceeding income
case group 1
up to 60 %
case group 2
up to 100 %
case group 3
up to 140 %
case group 4
> 140 %
We are therefore looking for people whose income exceeds the income threshold by less than 140%.
If you would like to check which case group you belong to, you can do so here: IFB case group calculator
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