That's not me asking, that's federally funded media, Deutsche-Welle.
First some background. Two posts from 2021, the second one five years-almost-to-the-day ago:
....So with all this running through my head, the first thing I saw regarding German politics on Monday was that the referendum to expropriate and socialize Berlin apartments from Germany's largest landlord had passed. Although the referendum is not binding on the Berlin government the result 57% ja/39% nein is one heck of an indication of the political zeitgeist.....
And from D-W, September 23:
Could Berlin expropriate large real estate companies?
The socialist Left Party won the Berlin election partly on the promise to implement the city's 2021 expropriation referendum as a way to solve the city's rent crisis. But can it really happen?
The socialist Left Party, which won the Berlin election on September 20, was the only major party on the ballot that said it would implement the results of Berlin's 2021 referendum, when 57.6% of Berliners voted to expropriate the apartments owned by real estate companies that own more than 3,000 units.
But the federal government has said they won't let it happen. So is it even possible? And how did we get here? DW explains.
What did the Left Party say about expropriation?
The Left Party was one of the main supporters of a successful, years-long grassroots campaign called "Deutsche Wohnen & Co. enteignen," ("Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen").
Deutsche Wohnen is a major property developer that owns over 140,000 units across Germany, and 100,000 in Berlin alone.
The campaign and the Left Party argued that by expropriating this and a handful of other major companies like it, the Berlin government could put some 270,000 apartments in Berlin into public ownership, and make them available at affordable rent prices. Other estimates put the number at around 240,000.
The argument struck a chord, as surveys showed that housing and rent prices were the biggest concerns for Berlin voters in the recent election.
Some 25% of rented property in Berlin is already in public ownership, through state-owned companies like Berlinovo. The expropriation measure would likely push that up to over 30%.
2021 referendum — what was the question and what came out of it?
The original referendum, held in September 2021, asked Berliners to vote yes or no on a five-point plan:
- Socializing the apartments owned by the major property companies
- Administration of the properties by a public-law entity
- Administration of the properties with participation from city officials, renters, and local communities
- Ban on any re-privatization
- Compensation for the property companies "significantly below" the market value of the property....
....MUCH MORE
After the referendum the property companies did the rational thing, they quit building, developing and rehabbing properties that would be at risk of expropriation. Some high end/luxe accommodations were built but at the lower end and in the middle the situation is worse than it was in 2021.
Our story so far:
September 26 - Thinking About Berlin's Politics: Return of the City-State, Or: The End of the Nation State May Be Upon Us
Probably not related:
August 25, 2021 - "Uganda receives 51 out of expected 2,000 Afghan refugees"
Oh dear. You can just imagine the conversation:
"What's this? Kampala? There must be some mistake, I signed up for the Berlin package: Ku'damm, techno, Tiergarten, last of the hipsters. Not Uganda."
