We are providing housing that meets defined standards for employees who express an interest.
Around 70 percent of our employees live in a private house or private apartment. For the other 30 percent, we provide appropriate accommodation. In order to do so, since summer 2020, the Tönnies property company has purchased or rented over 500 apartments and houses. The property company is now gradually bringing these up to the required standard so that they can then be made available to the employees of the Tönnies Group in a refurbished, renovated and furnished condition with a rent appropriate for the local market. This process is in full flow; the majority of properties are already of a much-improved standard.
In light of this, all properties will gradually be inspected, and the necessary next steps introduced based on their condition. In some cases, the Tönnies property company has intentionally vacated certain properties as they no longer met market standards and there was no prospect of achieving this standard through appropriate renovation measures.
Overall, since summer 2020, the Tönnies property company has created more than 500 accommodation units with more than 2,000 dwelling places for employees of the Tönnies Group. This is an ongoing process which will be continued in order to gradually improve the standards of the accommodation. We would like to push on with this process in the coming years with the new construction of accommodation based on the Lemgo model. This should ensure that all employees feel more comfortable working for us and, ideally, that they stay with us for a long time.
Our work
The team at Tönnies Immobilien Services [property company] always keeps an eye on the employee accommodation to ensure that standards are always met. Alongside the furnishings, they also consider the occupancy and the condition of the housing and properties.
These are inspected regularly. This is the only way in which we can ensure that the standards are met over time. We naturally comply with valid tenant legislation and take into account the privacy of the employees.
The tenant is responsible for the cleanliness of the accommodation and the general tidiness.
70% of our employees switch to private accommodation in time, even those from south-eastern Europe who have decided to remain in Germany for longer. Private accommodation is a sector that is highly protected in basic legislation. This ends our co-responsibility as an employer.
Our responsibility
Around 12,500 employees work for the Tönnies Group in Germany. The Tönnies Group establishes new accommodation so that when they are not at work, the employees have access to acceptable housing, and they are in a good position to integrate with the local community. We associate this with the goal of retaining some employees in the long-term and thus relieving the strain on municipal housing projects which, in some regions, are stretched to their limits. The goal is to provide our employees with reasonable accommodation with fair conditions so that they can see their lives being focussed here and feel comfortable. As the housing market is so stretched, we provide support in a variety of ways.
The longer the period of employment with us, the more we rely on their expertise and diligent work. After successful initial training, many employees gradually progress. Those who want to get on, can do so with us. We support everyone with offers, further training and face-to-face meetings We are proud of every manager who started with us as a worker and now has responsibility for themselves as well as other colleagues, who shares their own knowledge, and who enables others to carry out their own job reliably and with skill.
Integration and a strong connection to the town are primarily the result of reasonable living arrangements. We are thus firmly convinced that good housing has a positive effect on coexistence within society in the mid to long-term.
In the vicinity of our sites, we have already rented or purchased around 500 properties with more than 2,000 dwelling places. The accommodation is spread across numerous towns and municipalities, however, the route to work and home again should be as short as possible. Some properties include several of our employee apartments. This makes the property management work somewhat easier.
To be able to live a reasonable life, each employee needs their own space within the property. Tönnies Immobilien Services makes sure that the accommodation includes both communal rooms and opportunities for privacy. The accommodation is of different sizes. In the future, we will make sure that no more than two persons are housed in one bedroom.
Privacy is of particular importance when it is not a family or only family members that live in a property. So, it is a priority to include a sufficient number of bathrooms. The wet room is one of the most private areas of a property. If possible, several bathrooms should be available so that the employees can split them up accordingly. For six people, there should be at least one bathroom as well as an additional toilet.
Looking further ahead
The market for available housing throughout Germany is limited and stretched, we are aware of this. For this reason, in the mid to long-term, we would like to construct our own housing based on the “Lemgo model” of student accommodation constructed in Lemgo. We would like to implement this model, with its ultra-modern houses and single or double apartments with equally modern furnishings, in the municipalities around our sites.
The new apartments are planned for one or two persons. The double apartments are around 27 m2. The single apartments are around 16 m2. Each has its own bathroom and a kitchenette and is fully furnished with electrical appliances. There are also communal rooms in each house for all tenants, which, depending on the arrangement, are equipped with table football or other leisure facilities, as well as laundry facilities and a cellar. Weekly cleaning of the communal areas and property management services are also included.
To implement the new build plans quickly, we are currently in constructive talks with several municipalities in the region. As soon as appropriate building land is available, the building application can be submitted within 14 days.
The new accommodation will also bring some relief to the local housing market. The location must be near to supermarkets, leisure activities and to the workplace.
Ground plan for Lemgo Model
Our next goals
Overcrowded, cramped accommodation that does not meet any standards should be a thing of the past. We want our employees to feel comfortable in their homes. For this reason, we will press on further with the overplanning and renovations of the existing accommodation and gradually establish the standards. It is also important to us that we rectify the occupancy as best as we can so that fewer people live together in one accommodation unit.
To enable us to guarantee this, we constantly need new rental apartments and sale properties. We are also pressing on with the plans for potential new builds. We also hope to hold constructive talks with the landlords of the accommodation rented privately by our employees in order to implement the same standards as in the accommodation provided by ourselves.
Ask us!
Your opinion and questions are important to us. Please ask if you have a particular interest or do not understand something. Here you have the opportunity to form an opinion at first hand.
Our contact partner Ludgar Buschkotte, Director of Tönnies Immobilien Services, answers your relevant questions here. In the case of similar questions, we group the answers together.