Rising Rents Spark Berlin Housing Seizure Referendum
Residents in the capital have become increasingly frustrated with rising housing costs, as the city's attractiveness to outsiders has grown in recent years. And beyond Berlin, the cost of housing has become a hot topic on the campaign trail in the contest to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor. Back in Lehmann's living room, surrounded by pictures of her family, Lehmann says she simply "won't pay" the rise. Rent campaigners secured the referendum in Berlin after collecting 346,000 signatures in support of their proposition -- well above the number needed. They are pushing to "expropriate" homes from real estate companies with more than 3,000 properties. The result of the poll will not be binding, but advocates hope to force city government to respond to soaring rents, with the cost of housing going up by 85 percent between 2007 and 2019. The rise has been painful for residents in the capital where 80 percent of people are renters, and 19.3 percent of people live under the country's poverty line, compared to 15.9 percent in the country as a whole. Campaigners lay the blame at the door of major real estate groups, such as Adler, which owns 20,000 properties in Berlin. In Lehmann's Spandau district, activists argue Adler's attempt to hike rents is illegal, exceeding a legal reference index linked to the average rent in each area. The property group, in response, describes an "improved environment" around the lodgings that gives it grounds to charge more. Supporters of expropriation have upped the tempo of their campaign in recent weeks to win over undecided voters, hanging posters and organising demonstrations across the city. Many Berliners experienced rent increases after the German constitutional court struck down a rent cap which had been introduced by the city earlier this year, and a poll by the Tagesspiegel daily showed 47 percent of residents supported the radical proposal put forward in the referendum. Forcibly taking ownership of privately owned accommodation has largely been rejected by national and local politicians in favour of plans to speed up the building of new homes.
Tags : INTERNATIONAL Housing Rents rising Berlin Referendum Spark Seizure