The housing crisis as a breaking point for intimate relations – On living together in times of scarcity

The housing crisis has long ceased to be merely an economic or urban policy issue. It reaches deep into the textures of everyday life, reshaping the conditions under which people live together. This talk explores how rising rents and limited space affect family constellations and intimate relationships. When leaving the parental home is postponed due to a lack of affordable options; when families inhabit spaces that are too small and must be reconfigured through improvised spatial arrangements; when separations are delayed because maintaining two households is financially unfeasible – it becomes evident how profoundly housing conditions structure intimate decisions. At the same time, precarious housing situations, uncertainty, and the fear of displacement generate psychological pressures that inscribe themselves into relationships. Drawing on current developments in Berlin’s housing market and engaging with concepts from critical and feminist urban studies, the talk approaches housing as a social practice: as a site of care and dependency, negotiation and strain – and as a key condition shaping how people live together today.