Berlin coalition agrees to socialize major private housing firms

Linke, Grüne and the SPD have concluded negotiations to socialize the principal real-estate corporations operating in Berlin. At a recent press conference, Elif Eralp explained that firms such as Vonovia, Heimstaden, Covivio, Adler and DVI will be transferred to public ownership, taking a large portion of the rental stock out of market logic. The SPD’s longstanding opposition to such measures has softened, allowing the proposal to become concrete policy.

Open questions persist regarding the raised threshold for inclusion and the financing plan that will be drafted in the coming year. Nonetheless, the initiative promises that more than half of the city's housing could be managed without a profit motive, potentially curbing private landlords’ influence. Combined with other rent-control measures, the plan could represent a notable turn in Berlin’s housing strategy.