Is This The Oldest,

and cheapest housing complex of all time?

and when I say cheap the rent has not gone up in years, 500 years in fact! today residents of Fuggerei, a walled district on the outskirts of Augsburg, in Germany, pay only $1 a year on rent, the same as the first tenants who originally moved here nearly 500 years ago, it was all the brain child of an affluent businessman named Jakob Fugger, who set up a trust which is still running today, it was his way of giving something back to the community, photograph by Tiia Monto/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Jakob Fugger’s dream was to offer affordable housing to people in need, regardless of social status, age or family background, the only requirements were that applicants had to be of Catholic fate and registered residents of Augsburg for at least two years, successful applicants had to also agree to a 10pm curfew and commit to praying for their benefactors, the Fugger family, three times a day at the local church, the exact same conditions apply today, Fuggerei residents had to pay only one Rhenish guilder in monthly rent, that Rhenish guilder has been converted into modern currency, but still only amounts to 0.88€ ($1) per year, The Vintage News reports that the people of Fuggerei are also required to pay another 0.88€ towards the maintenance of the local church, and about €85 for heating and maintenance, if the 10pm curfew puts you off it is not as strictly enforced as it once was, while the guard does close the gates at the same hour, a small tip of around €.50 usually grants residents entry past 10pm, well that's a relief then! the Fuggerei gated community has miraculously withstood the test of time, despite suffering serious damage during World War 2, it has not only been rebuilt but also expanded, today it consists of 67 houses and 147 apartments and is home to 142 residents and is most probably the world’s oldest social housing complex.