Living Spaces - Public Opinion Survey of the BBR 2012

Apartment and residential status. Housing costs. Settlement structures and the socio-structural context of the dwelling and its evaluation. Economic background. Neighbourhood and integration. Mobility.

Topics: 1. Housing: town size; living in the city centre or outside; location; duration of residence at the place of residence; satisfaction with the place of residence (scalometer); duration of residence in the current dwelling; residential status.

2. Housing costs: tenants were asked: tenancy agreement at hand; amount of the monthly total amount for rent and ancillary expenses; amount of the basic rent (net cold rent); amount of the monthly flat rate for cold rent (apportionable) service charges; rent including heating and hot water; amount of the monthly costs for heating and hot water; assessment of the rental costs; receipt of housing benefit and unemployment benefit II; owner were asked: type of property acquisition (old stock, new building, inheritance); claiming of governmental subsidies (KfW, housing subsidies of the federal states, municipal funding, home ownership allowance).

3. Current dwelling and living environment: living space; number of residential premises; assessment of the size of the dwelling; equipment of the dwelling; equipment corresponds to needs; construction period; type of house; structural condition of the house; satisfaction with the dwelling, the immediate residential environment and the environmental conditions in the living environment (scalometer).

4. Residential area and social structure: description of the residential environment and of the residential area; structure of the residential area (old buildings, newer houses, etc.) or pure new development area); one- or two-family houses or larger apartment blocks; subjectively perceived composition of the population in the residential area.

5. Neighbourhood and integration: the relationship between Germans and foreigners in the residential environment; attitude towards the spatial separation of Germans and foreigners in a neighborhood; German nationality; contacts to foreigners and Germans (segregation).

6. Mobility: intention to move; main reason for moving; relocation preference (target area); opinion on the merging of one´s own federal state with the neighbouring federal state; evaluation of the personal economic situation; employment status; assessment of the own job security; problems with the reconciliation of family and career.

Demography: sex; age; marital status; household type; employment status; full-time or part-time employment respectively by the hour; occupational status; occupational groups (current or previous main activity); employee status, worker status or civil servant status; school leaving certificate; completed vocational training or study; household size; household composition: number of children under 6 years, from 6 to 13 years, young people from 14 to 17 years, persons 18 years and older and persons 65 years and older; number of income earners in the household; net household income; employment status of other persons in the household or unemployed, pensioners or students in the household; life satisfaction (scalometer).

Additionally coded was: survey year; survey wave, federal state; east/west; BIK community type; city and community type; weighting factors.