Germany: Pensioner evicted from his home to make room for migrants

A pensioner in Germany was fighting in court against his local council’s decision to evict him from his home to make room for migrants. The court has now upheld the council’s order.

Klaus Roth, 75, lives in Neckartailfingen near Stuttgart with his partner, who is 73. Neckartailfingen is a village of approximately 3,800 residents. More than a year ago, the village, which was already hosting 40 migrants, was instructed to take in even more of them.

The Esslingen District Council, which holds jurisdiction over Neckartailfingen, decided that Roth’s flat, which consists of six rooms over 150 square meters, should be seized and converted into a reception centre to accommodate the additional migrants. A court ruling from the 1990s gives councils the power to confiscate property for this purpose.

Roth, who has been living in the flat for 25 years, refused to leave and challenged his eviction in Nürtingen District Court. Roth has suffered several heart attacks and also has asthma and diabetes.

He is also quite popular in the village, where he volunteers to assist his fellow senior citizens. Roth has even shown his support for migrants in the past — in 2015, he worked in the local working group which helped asylum-seekers to find accommodations when the migrant crisis first erupted.

The court, however, has decided in favor of the council, according to a report by Junge Freiheit. In the court’s decision, it cited the size of Roth’s flat and said that it was reasonable for him to live in a smaller one. While the court acknowledged that the eviction was a hardship for Roth, they assert that it “does not outweigh the landlord’s legitimate interests.”

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