https://thinkpol.ca/2021/09/17/berlin-buys-thousands-of-apartments-from-corporate-landlords/

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Berlin buys thousands of apartments from corporate landlords

September 17, 2021   Business, International, Politics
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BERLIN (AP) -- Berlin's city government said Friday it is buying some
14,750 apartments from two large corporate landlords for 2.46 billion
euros ($2.9 billion) -- a deal announced a week before local and
national elections as the German capital tries to expand the supply
of publicly owned accommodation.

The deal with Vonovia and Deutsche Wohnen, which also includes about
450 shops and follows months of negotiations, involves both companies
selling about 10% of their property in Berlin to state-owned property
companies. It will bring the number of government-owned apartments in
Berlin to about 355,000 -- about a fifth of the 1.67 million rental
apartments in the city.

Rising rents have been a hot-button issue for years in Berlin, where
tenants long enjoyed low rents compared with many other capital
cities. Purchases of apartments that were once government-owned but
over recent decades were sold off to private companies are one way in
which the outgoing city government -- a left-wing coalition of the
Social Democrats, Greens and Left Party -- has sought to address the
problem. So far, it hasn't had much success.

In April, Germany's highest court ruled that a cap the local
government imposed on rent prices last year was unconstitutional and
void.

The rule froze rents for some 90% of Berlin apartments at June 2019
rates for five years. In many cases, existing rents needed to be
reduced to conform to the new threshold. After the court ruling, many
tenants faced hefty back payments.

A new city government will be elected on Sept. 26, when Germans also
will vote for a new national parliament.

Also that day, Berliners will vote in a non-binding referendum on a
call for the local government to expropriate the properties of large
corporate landlords. The initiative's backers criticized Friday's
deal.

The Associated Press

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