The Rental Costs Checker can evaluate every urban planning design in with its feasable economic rent within a few hours.

The results are transparent for all persons within the participation process. It becomes clear that differences in rent of 14 to 22 €/m² can be the result of different construction designs.

This approach raises people’s awareness for the influence that design height and depth as well as whether building within the city instead of further expanding to suburbias will have on building costs and consequently rental rates.

Lobbyists that demand a social rent for special interest communities, artists, etc. and for themselves should have to call for the necessary subsidisation openly and honestly. There are a many socially important uses that could never break even, but they could be refinanced by more expensive penthouses.

A possible setup imaginable for an honest participation process could be that the quota of participants comprises 50 % “flat-owning” persons (proprietors and tenants) and 50 % “flat-hunting” persons.

A referee should be allowed to show yellow or red cards. If a participant has been issued a caution three times (red card) they would be debarred from the process. Before the start of the meeting it would be made clear what actions lead to a cautioning.

It has to be ensured that the subject of the necessary subsidies for social uses, artists, day-care facilities etc. is approached openly. The current building costs and prices of land entail that these types of utilisation cannot possibly cover the rent fully.

There has to be an explicit allocation of subsidies and funding for social uses: