New floor plans and housing types for special needs: To enable single parents to access suitable housing, GEWOBA has been specifically building affordable housing for single parents with children since 2015. Another pilot project with cluster apartments in the Werdersee garden city is currently under construction.
Single parents face particular challenges in the housing market: Where can I find affordable housing with sufficient living space that meets my needs? In the rental market, they compete with other target groups for a limited number of available apartments. This is further complicated by the often low to middle incomes or reliance on social welfare benefits of single parents. To enable them to access suitable housing, GEWOBA has been specifically building rent-controlled housing for single parents with children since 2015. Another pilot project with cluster apartments in the Werdersee garden city is currently under construction.
Single parents are particularly disadvantaged on the housing market
Finding affordable housing in Bremen is difficult. This is due to the mismatch between supply and demand. Single parents are a particularly disadvantaged group, representing almost eight percent of households seeking housing in Bremen. They have similar housing needs to families, but over 50 percent of them belong to lower income brackets.
GEWOBA is responding to this trend with targeted new housing construction. Since 2015, as part of its new construction strategy, it has increasingly focused on developing new floor plan typologies that are geared towards the housing needs of single parents. These include, for example, three-room apartments with a small, separate master bedroom and a kitchenette in the living room, which are generally allocated to single parents with a housing entitlement certificate.
New construction project “Tarzan & Jane”
Corresponding floor plans with 54 square meters of living space were implemented, among other projects, in the new "Tarzan & Jane" development in Bremen-Huchting. This led to the development of a larger apartment type in the new climate-friendly "Seehöfe" housing estate in Bremen-Huckelriede. The three-room apartments there are up to 70 square meters in size. In total, around 320 new apartments for single parents have been created through new construction projects. In addition, GEWOBA owns approximately 11,000 existing apartments in Bremen and Bremerhaven that would also be suitable for single-parent households.
Pilot project: Cluster apartments for single parents
In the Werdersee garden city, GEWOBA is currently constructing a multi-story building with an innovative apartment type. Specifically designed for single parents, two so-called cluster apartments will be completed by the end of 2026. This pioneering project features two small apartments connected by a common room. The connection can be opened and closed as needed, allowing each resident to retreat to their own private space. This model aims to give single parents the opportunity to support each other in their daily lives.
Business unit manager Stefan Stahl sees this as a clear benefit: “One of the biggest challenges for single parents is ensuring childcare. With our new cluster apartments in the Werdersee garden city, we want to support this family structure and specifically target single parents, as they particularly benefit from this housing model.”
Source: GEWOBA – GEWOBA offers new housing solutions for single parents, May 26, 2026
