Nowhere does the price of housing increase as much as in Berlin, and in the face of this situation, public institutions have begun to take action. A few months ago, the authorities of the German capital began buying hundreds of apartments to prevent large real estate companies from buying them on the market.
But they have realised that this measure is not enough and the possibility of a referendum is being strengthened. This survey will raise the taboo issue so far: the possibility of expropriating apartments to large owners and then renting them for social rent.
One of the purposes of the law that would result from this referendum is to close the doors to the owners of over 3,000 homes to do their business in the city.
These characteristics are complied with by the AG real estate of Deutsche Wohn, which is the largest owner of the city and considered by many as one of the main culprits for the increased rent in Berlin.
In order to carry out the initiative, 20,000 signatures are needed, which seems feasible in view of the public debate in Berlin on this subject.
Public institutions could expropriate 200,000 households if the measure continued. The money that the owner would charge for the expropriations would be below the market value, according to the newspaper Der Tagesspiegel in its digital edition, Twitter.
The Left Party, Die linke, has joined the initiative, as have members of the Greens and some of the SPD, the Social Democrat.