Housing stratification and the politics of tenure: Socio-temporal inequalities in Leipzig

Abstract

Rental housing markets in Germany and other European countries are experiencing profound transformations, generating new forms of inequality. While existing research often emphasises binary divisions, such as between owners and tenants, or across generations, it rarely captures the layered stratifications within the rental sector itself. This paper uses original household survey data from Leipzig-Connewitz ( n = 427), a neighbourhood marked by post-socialist restructuring and rapid investment influx, to explore how socio-temporal inequalities are shaped by residence duration and landlord type. The analysis develops an empirically grounded typology of rental housing experiences, ordered along a continuum from stability to vulnerability: (i) residents in public and non-profit housing enjoying security and rent affordability; (ii) affluent tenants in high-end private rentals, largely shielded from market pressures; (iii) tenants in corporate housing who face insecurity despite high incomes; and (iv) households in the financially fragile segment of the private rental market, with low rents but limited economic security. These types reflect how tenure structures intersect with socio-economic and temporal dimensions to produce differentiated patterns of housing security and vulnerability. By moving beyond conventional tenure binaries, the research provides a nuanced understanding of contemporary rental markets, particularly in housing systems with high tenant protection and significant non-profit segments. The typology developed here contributes to international housing debates by highlighting how post-reunification legacies, institutional diversity and temporal positioning shape uneven tenant experiences. It provides a conceptual lens for analysing stratification within rental-dominated contexts across East Germany and other regulated housing regimes facing significant investment dynamics.