Using the equivalent income makes it easier to compare household income situations in terms of their size and composition. To evaluate an income situation, it is important how many people live in a household and therefore how high the per capita income is, because

1. the amount of income required depends on the size of the household
2. at the same time, households can save money by, for example, sharing household appliances.

This family has an income of 2100€.

The obvious answer would be: 525€, but this answer neglects the fact that many expenses are paid together in a household. For this reason, a calculation is used that assigns a factor to each member of the household:

The first adult is assigned a factor of 1, each additional adult 0.5, and every child 0.3. The household income is now divided by the sum of the factors.

The income of this family is therefore comparable to the income of a single person who has 1000€ at their disposal[16].

The net rent plus all ancillary expenses is referred to as the gross warm rent[17].

Despite the fact that rent burdens for those with and without a migration background were nearly identical, migration background is a significant factor of housing discrimination and restrictions. Based on studies, people with an immigrant background live in smaller, less desirable households and pay more for it.

There are numerous reasons for this discrimination. For one aspect, many cities have a housing shortage, resulting in a tighter housing market and hence higher rents. “Racial discrimination can be exacerbated by a lack of housing and rising rents. More housing applications means more options for the gatekeepers of the housing market,” those who employ selection criteria to control access to the housing market. Racial prejudice can be discovered behind these selection factors, which might present itself in double discrimination (for example, on the basis of origin and religion) [18, S. 11].

Discrimination in the housing market is notoriously difficult to prove. Particularly when reasons for rejection are provided, discrimination remains ambiguous, making it unlikely that charges will be made [19, S. 8].

Racial discrimination in the housing market

Discrimination in the housing market is notoriously difficult to prove. Particularly when reasons for rejection are provided, discrimination remains ambiguous, making it unlikely that charges will be made [19, S. 9]

• Rejection based on a “foreign sounding” name or accent are examples of possible racial prejudice.
• A person's worth is judged only on the basis of his or her appearance, resulting in a rent price hike.
• Discrimination is common in this circumstance. It's deeply established in the institution. “When this is the case, Employees of a real estate company are ordered to exclusively rent to people of a specific ethnicity. Internal quota requirements are another example.” [19, S. 10]

The consequences for people who are affected are frequently severe, ranging from violation of dignity to exclusion from specific communities [19, S. 11].

The number of households with the highest income may seem relatively large here. At this point, however, further differentiation has been omitted since households with above-average incomes tend not to be affected by housing constraints.

In 1966, the United Nations General Assembly passed the UN Social Covenant. Article 11 of the UN Social Covenant controls “the right to appropriate housing,” among other things[20]:

“(1) States Parties acknowledge that everyone has the right to an acceptable standard of living for himself and his family, including appropriate food, clothing, and housing, as well as the right to continue to improve living conditions. States Parties shall take adequate measures to ensure the fulfilment of this right, and acknowledge the critical necessity of international cooperation based on free consent in this regard” [20]

According to the Federal Statistical Office, a person “with a migration background if he or she or at least one parent was not born with German citizenship. In detail this definition includes immigrant and non-immigrant foreigners, immigrant and nonimmigrant naturalized citizens, (late) Aussiedler (ethnic Germans) as well as the descendants of these groups born as Germans” [21].

Also, the Hans Böckler Foundation paper that was used shows, “Patterns of Social Inequality in the Patterns of Social Inequality in Housing Provision in German Cities” also uses the term “migration background”. This could be due to the fact that the study is based on micro census data. However, outside of statistical concerns, the phrase, as well as many other terms, is divisive. The German government's expert commission on integration skills even proposes abandoning the statistical term of migration background. It was used in the micro census up to this moment. This applies to both the classification of this category and the specification of the subcategories that fall under it [22][23].

As an alternative, the Neue Deutsche Medienmacher suggest the term “people with an international history”[24].

For further information, we recommend the contribution by Arnisa Halili on the platform Treffpunkt Europa. Contribution by Arnisa Halili

The Socio-Economic Index of Occupational Status classifies occupations based on the level of education usually required and the typical income.

For example, Cleaners, cooks, janitors, and unskilled workers fall into the lowest category.

The second-lowest category includes “craft and technical occupations with higher skill levels” [15, S. 155f.]The second-lowest category includes “craft and technical occupations with higher skill levels” [15, S. 155f.].

The fictitious redistribution was performed as follows [15, S. 166f.]: