Expropriation movement strengthens after collapse of Berliner Mietendeckel

The decision by Germany's Constitutional Court to overturn the Berlin Mietendeckel in April will have many consequences, quite apart from the obvious short-term measure of reversing all the rental agreements that were directly affected by the rent cap. It remains to be seen how supporters of the rent cap will organise for future versions of what had so far only been imposed in Berlin, and had only been sanctioned by the Berlin Senate.

While the dust is settling on the decision from Karlsruhe, there will certainly be turmoil for many tenants in Berlin, many of whom have clearly made no provision for the back rent which they will now be obliged to pay to their landlords, should they exert their right to recover the unpaid amounts.

One clear outcome of the decision has been heightened sympathy for the other initiative that has been gathering steam in Berlin over the past year. The issue of expropriating housing companies deemed to have excessive housing holdings has now taken on even greater urgency, with a recent survey showing that ever more Berliners now support the aims of the initiative "Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co", which would socialise large housing companies, those with more than 3,000 housing units. The listed Deutsche Wohnen has more than 120,000 apartments in Berlin, making it the prime bogeyman of the protestors. Altogether, about 230,000 Berlin apartments would be targeted by the measure, if successful. 

The survey, carried out by Infratest Dimap on behalf of media outlets rbb-Abendschau and the Berliner Morgenpost, shows that supporters of expropriation now number 47% of eligible Berlin voters, as against 43% who are against. In November last year, just before the rent freeze was imposed, 61% of Berliners voted against the petition.

Now 57% of younger voters under 40 are in favour of expropration, along with one in three CDU supporters, up from one in five CDU supporters before the rent freeze. Now, 75% of all Berliners are also in favour of a nationwide rent freeze, with tenants approving of such a measure by 80%. Nearly all the political parties - except for the liberal Free Democrats - are now in favour of a nationwide rent cap.

The expropriation movement now require a total of 175,000 valid signatures from Berliners by 25th June - or 7% of those eligible to vote for their own Senate - to ensure that their petition will lead to a referendum, which would take place on the same day as Berlin's Senate and the nation's Federal Elections on 26th September.

There are still many bones of contention as to the exact demands, should the voters succeed in getting a vote on the expropriation in the eventual referendum. Not least would be the level of compensation to be paid to the landlords in return for giving up their assets. The Senate estimates the cost would be up to €35bn from the already heavily indebted city-state, while the would-be expropriators put the figure at only €8bn. The plan would be to refinance the sum "entirely from securitising rental cash flow, without burdening the state budget", according to the movement's main spokesman Rouzbeh Taheri.

Most of the big parties - except for the hard left Die Linke and the young Socialists - are against the expropriation measure. However, the Greens have described the petition as a "wake-up call to politicians to enforce the guiding principle of 'property comes with obligations' as laid down in the constitution. While we support the goals of the petition, we are critical of the general quantitative hurdles - such as the expropriation proposed by the initiative for a certain number of apartments", according to local party leader Werner Graf.

On the opposition benches, the CDU has seen its opposition to the move weakened somewhat since the freeze was lifted. Berlin CDU leader Kai Wegner said that Berliners were against ideology and class warfare, but DID want a fair deal in a well-regulated market.

The opposition FDP is against the move, on the grounds that it doesn't lead to the building of a single new dwelling to help ease the affordable housing shortage in the city. Likewise, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) calls the movement "economic madness" and the debt burden the city would have to take on to compensate the owners would be so heavy it would hamstring the city in any attempts to launch a new building programme to bridge the housing deficit.