You Won’t Allow a Rent Cap? Okay, We’ll Expropriate the Landlords
On Thursday, a rent cap introduced by Berlin's city government was struck down by the German Constitutional Court. But public opposition to the private landlords has been building for years — and now, a referendum on forced renationalization looks like the only way of breaking their power.
Collection of signatures for the Berlin rent referendum, 2016. (Flickr)
In November, Arne noticed how many of his Berlin friends and colleagues were receiving letters. Normally, nothing good can be expected from unsolicited mail formulated in odd officialese — especially when it comes from your landlord. But these letters were different.
They read something like this: “Dear Sir or Madam, following the entry into force of the Act on Rent Restrictions in the Housing Sector in Berlin, only the rent on the cut-off date pursuant to Section 3 (3) of the act may be demanded for your apartment. Pursuant to Section 6 IV, the landlord is obliged to inform you of the circumstances relevant to the calculation of the rent cap.”
Arne wondered if such “calculations” applied to him. Like many Berliners, he and his girlfriend had struggled to find an affordable apartment, and they were paying the equivalent of $1,250 a month for 850 square feet — within their price range, but a lot compared to smaller cities. If the rent cap was applied, it would have saved them $150 a month.
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