Interim use

The term interim use denotes a temporary use of building structures, which is often not purely economically oriented interim use for rooms or areas that are not currently used at conditions that are not customary in the market and works according to the principle of "inexpensive space against temporary use" or "guarded by housing ".

The strength of the temporary use lies in its symbiotic character for users, owners and urban developers . For the interim users as actors, temporary uses represent a strategy for realizing their ideas, while for the owner it can mean a possibility of temporarily eliminating vacancies and avoiding damage from vandalism. The presence of a user means that on the one hand the rooms are partially managed in the interests of the owner and the structures are supervised in order to protect them from destruction.

definition

Intermediate uses are temporary, flexible uses of fallow land that can be carried out with little investment. Since the beginning of the new millennium, interim uses have no longer been rated as spontaneous, informal and creative actions, but the positive effects of interim uses have been given a new appreciation in the context of urban development. This is reflected both in the modification of planning law principles and in the public perception as well as the professionalization of intermediaries and intermediate users themselves. House caretakers who are mostly employed on a short-term basis do not fall under this definition, as they take care of the property full-time.

background

Cities are dynamic constructions and are subject to constant change, which is influenced by economic, cultural and social factors. This increases or decreases the demand for and attractiveness of certain areas. In the 1970s, for example, entire city districts were newly built as huge office centers in almost all cities (as in Hamburg City-Nord ) in anticipation of the high demand for open-plan offices from the growing service sector. Outsourcing and rationalization measures in the decades that followed caused many companies to shrink again. Today these office complexes are often empty. In the retail sector, the trend towards shopping malls and the growing space requirements of the increasingly dominant international or global branches have ensured that commercial units in Wilhelminian style old buildings or small retail spaces have been increasingly empty since the 1990s. In some cases, entire inner cities are even dying out because retailers are moving to more attractive areas. Especially in regions that are structurally poorly developed and have to contend with strong demographic emigration movements, many areas fall fallow. These include above all the East German regions, but also North Hesse and the Ruhr area.

Suitable locations and types of use

Depending on the fallow land, there are different framework conditions for temporary use in the context of conversions . The Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBSR) differentiates between the following types of locations:

• Reserve and urban development areas
• Industrial, military and infrastructure areas
• Demolition areas in apartment buildings
• Vacant lots
• Shops and department stores
• Public buildings and office buildings
• Residential buildings

Framework conditions for temporary use depend on the type of owner (public sector, cooperative, real estate fund, private owner, heir company ...), the desired or planned subsequent use, the pressure on the area to be exploited, the condition of the area / building.

Typical interim uses of such locations according to BBR:

• Gardens and grave land
• Public green space
• Sports facilities
• Arts and Culture
• Gastronomy and clubs
• Offices and shops
• Social facilities
• Temporary living
• Commercial uses such as markets, parking lots

According to the BBSR, typical interim users are:

• Social initiatives and associations, child and youth work
• Residents / tenants / neighbors of an area, a district
• Entrepreneur
• Creatives, artists, organizers
• Socio-cultural groups

Goals and interests of owners and users

Interim uses must be negotiated between two groups of actors. This happens either directly in personal contact or with the support of municipalities or intermediary organizations as "carers" who have specialized in the mediation of temporary uses.

• Users : are looking for cheap space to try out their ideas in an unbureaucratic way and with little risk.
• Owners : attach importance to little administrative work, returns and uncomplicated care and maintenance or protection from neglect and occupation of their areas / units.

The advantages of temporary use for fallow land are:

• Areas can be used innovatively and thus maintained and protected against vandalism, so that the value of the area can be retained up to and including an increase in value.
• The owner foregoing too high a return, the user on the other hand, on medium to long-term planning and location security.

Interim use and urban development

An urban society consists of divergent target groups with different goals. Whether economic, social or cultural values ​​and interests are in the foreground, in the end urban development and urban society are about creating neighborhoods that are worth living in. This takes place in a constant negotiation process between the different target groups. Temporary uses are an opportunity to try out free spaces and ideas.

potential

Interim uses have different effects on urban development.

• Interim uses encourage participation and engagement with urban development processes ; in interim uses, ideas are often realized that arise from the specific needs of residents / actors and thus promote civic engagement, democratic participation and the assumption of responsibility. At the same time, interim uses can have an integrative effect and create neighborhoods.
• Temporary uses have a symbolic level ; they can positively change the image of areas / buildings and turn them into economically innovative or culturally attractive places. Such factors play an important role, especially in districts with special development needs, because structural problems can only be overcome in the long term. Attractive temporary uses create quality of life and positive public perception in and for the quarter.
• Interim uses also have an economic character , especially if they create new jobs, because people dare to take the plunge into self-employment or because they can stimulate the surrounding streets / shops through increased public traffic.
• Interim uses can promote sustainable urban development through their integrative character, through being rooted in real needs and, above all, through the opportunity to perpetuate trial uses, i.e. if ideas from interim uses are so successful that they can become permanent uses.

Risks

Interim uses should be of use to both owners and users. Whether this benefit is generated through symbolic or monetary values ​​depends on the individual negotiation of the conditions for the temporary use of an area / building. There are many ways to contractually regulate temporary uses and thus keep the risk for users and owners as low as possible. This primarily applies to notice periods and periods of use, rental conditions and operating costs, insurance issues, liability, eviction, traffic safety obligations, etc. Clear communication and mutual definition of goals is important here.

Difficulties in the implementation of temporary uses

Nonetheless, building law or procedural difficulties often arise when implementing temporary uses.

• Building law: Temporary uses are often based on exception or exemption regulations, which means that a good connection to the municipal administration is often decisive for the approval.
• Contract law: without a contract it is difficult to claim rights and obligations and promises. A contractual safeguard increases the bureaucratic effort, but also minimizes the risk.
• Economical: Owners often first have to come to terms with the realization that their space has currently lost its previous traffic / land value. Return expectations are therefore often higher than appropriate.
• Process-related: Establishing contact with the owner can prove difficult, here too the cooperation by and with the municipalities concerned is expedient, in some cases social or cultural interim uses can be financed through subsidies, and here too the process sequence may be somewhat more complex

Practical examples

The diverse practical implementations of temporary uses have ensured that the topic has gained growing recognition not only in research in recent years. In 2004, the Building Code (BauGB) was amended (Section 9, Paragraph 2, "Temporary Construction"), the practice of action is facilitated by professionalization through intermediate organizations, through the automatic qualification of interim users in their own right and good examples. A good overview of practical examples is provided by the platform Zwischenführung.net as well as selected practical examples from the readers from the ExWoSt research project on temporary use.

Award

The planning project ZZZ - ZwischenZeitZentrale Bremen , funded by the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, was awarded the quality seal "Werkstatt N-Projekt" by the Council for Sustainable Development in 2016 .

Temporary use in the Netherlands

Antikraak is the Dutch name for a concept for the temporary use of vacant properties. Kraak means departure or break-in in German. Vacant properties were originally "guarded" by residents or users in order to prevent the property from being occupied . Since squatting in the Netherlands was punished tougher by the introduction of new offenses in 2010, preventing harm, e.g. B. by vandalism or rainwater, a bigger role.

In the Netherlands, people who temporarily use or live in a property are called Antikraker. In the German-speaking world, the terms Haushüter and Hauswächter can be found. House keepers are predominantly people who use an occupied or used property for up to a few months while the main resident is absent. In contrast to Antikraak in the Netherlands, or house guards, house keepers often take on additional services, such as looking after animals and watering plants. House guards, on the other hand, are mostly people who use an empty and vacated property for several months to years.

It is typical for Dutch anti-cracks, but also for house guards and housekeepers in Germany or Switzerland, that they usually do not have a regular rental agreement and are exempt from typical rental rights, such as protection against unfounded termination. The notice periods are usually much shorter than for regular rental contracts and are usually 14 days in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, Antikraker regularly plans to use the property for residential purposes. In Germany, living in “protected” properties is usually only permitted for a few days or months. In contrast, it is often only tolerated in houses "guarded" for several months or for several years. To compensate for this disadvantage compared to regular tenants, anti-crackers, housekeepers and housekeepers pay a fee for letting the property, which is usually significantly lower than the rent for a comparable property on the open market. Dutch anticraak companies also often try to find a replacement in the event of a termination.

While Antikraak in the Netherlands was originally organized by the owners themselves, there are now a large number of companies and other organizations that specialize in brokering temporary users of vacant properties. Examples are Camelot BV, Bureau voor Tijdelijke Bewoning BV, in Germany HomeSitting-Service Bochum and the Verein Haushalten e. V. City administrations (especially in the Netherlands), municipal housing associations and individual owners are also regularly initiators of temporary use.

The Antikraak concept has been criticized again and again from the Dutch squatter scene, and Antikraaks are compared with strikebreakers . In addition, the opinion is often expressed that antikrakers promote the problem of vacant houses in densely populated inner cities, since temporarily used houses are not available on the regular housing market. Antikraak companies often reply that the need for living space is being met by Antikraak.

Critics also fear that the status of rental rights, such as protection against unfounded termination and a reasonable notice period, will be weakened by Antikraak. They also argue that anti-crackers have to accept many restrictions, such as the ban on keeping pets, accommodating overnight guests, receiving visitors and hosting private celebrations. The fact that Antikraak properties are often viewed unannounced by the owners and employees of the Antikraak company leads to restrictions in the Antikraak's privacy. It is also often criticized that high, unspecified administration costs are billed. The fee actually paid by the Antikraak therefore often significantly exceeds the ancillary and consumption costs, although Dutch law does not allow Antikraak to pay rent.

The Woonbond, as one of the largest tenants' associations in the Netherlands, sees Antikraak as controversial. In 2011 the city council of Amsterdam set up a contact point for anti-crackers who want support.

With “Leegstand zonder Zorgen” there is a Dutch report on the topic of anticraak.

literature

• NEW USE OF VACANT SPACES SPURS INNOVATION ON A LOCAL LEVEL , (March 2018), The REFILL (Reuse of vacant spaces as a driving Force for Innovation at the Local Level) network is funded by Urbact , a program of the European Regional Development Fund: First edition: City of Ghent, Belgium
• Oliver Hasemann, Daniel Schnier, Anne Angenendt and Sarah Oßwald (eds.): "Building Platforms - Creation of Places", 304 pages, Publisher: Jovis, Edition: Bilingual (March 2017) ISBN 978-3-86859-450-8
• BIS Bremerhaven Society for Investment Promotion and Urban Development mbH, AAA GmbH: Ratatouille, spatial needs analysis of the cultural and creative industries in Bremerhaven , Bremen, (July 2014)
• Michael Ziehl, Sarah Oßwald, Oliver Hasemann and Daniel Schnier (eds.): "Second hand spaces - about the recycling of places in urban change" , 464 pages, publisher: Jovis, edition: bilingual (June 2012) ISBN 978-3- 86859-155-2
• BMVBS, BBR (ed.): Temporary uses and niches in urban development as a contribution to sustainable urban development . Werkstatt Praxis, issue 57. Bonn 2008. ISBN 978-3-87994-957-1
• Maren Kauzick: Temporary use as the initiator of a new Berlin identity? , Institute for Urban and Regional Planning, TU Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-7983-2068-0
• Urban Pioneers: Urban development through interim use Ed .: Senate Department for Urban Development and Housing Paperback: 192 pages Publisher: Jovis; Edition: Bilingual (November 30, 2007) ISBN 3-939633-28-3
• Jana Reichenbach-Behnisch, Michael Rudolph, legal opinion: Thomas Käseberg: Conservation, maintenance and vacancy management of valuable building fabric through user participation using the four basic models of sale-rent-lease-loan . Housing research program of the BBR, Leipzig 2008.
• Jana Reichenbach-Behnisch, Michael Rudolph: "Vacancy management through intermediate use", paperback, 262 pages, Hammonia-Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3872923196

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Federal Office for Building and Space
2. ↑ zwischennutzung.net
3. ↑ " Temporary uses and niches in urban development as a contribution to sustainable urban development"
4. ↑ ZZZ - ZwischenZeitZentrale Bremen , Werkstatt N, 2016
5. ^ WFB: The ZwischenZeitZentrale and the Überseestadt. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 8, 2018 ; accessed on January 8, 2018 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ ^{a b} Network interim use
7. ↑ Kraken definitief verboden - NU - Het laatste nieuws het eerst op NU.nl
8. ↑ ^{a b} woonbond.nl
9. ↑ Tijdelijke huur en anti-kraak
10. ↑ ^{a b} Leegstand Zonder Zorgen
11. ↑ Actie tegen privacyschendingen bij antikraak - woonbond.nl
12. ↑ Amsterdam opent Klachtenmeldpunt Antikraak - woonbond.nl
13. ↑ Carefree Vacant Property - Leegstand Zonder Zorgen