Berlin wants to hold a referendum on the expropriation of real estate and falling housing prices

Berlin, like most of the world's major capitals, has been subjected to an accelerated process of gentrification: price increases that expel the inhabitants of cities outside of them.

According to an article published by Publico.es, Berliners spend on average 46% of your rental income from your home. In this context, the municipal authorities have already begun to take action and they could even go further.

In recent months, the city began to acquire hundreds of apartments with the goal of not falling into the hands of major real estate groupswhich, in most cases, are intended for luxury spaces or tourist rental, such as those of the AirB & B platform.

But this measure is not enough. according to Publico.es, the authorities of the German capital have long been evaluate the possibility of organizing a referendum to decide the expropriation of the apartments of the big building and allocate the expropriated housing to a social rent, with low prices and set by the state, not by the market.

In addition to expropriations, referendum could prevent owners of more than 3,000 homes from operating in the cityas in the case of the largest real estate in the German capital, Deutsche Wohnen AG.

In the last period, the mighty Deutsche Wohnen AG has become the favored target of the criticism of anti-gentrification movements. His company is a clear example of the type of speculation that results in considerable increases in the price of rents.

If the initiative succeeds, the expropriated houses – about 200,000 – would become the German equivalent of municipal housing, which, in other cities, such as Vienna, for example, is earmarked for social rent, which will have an impact on reducing the cost of living.

For the referendum to become a reality, it must have the approval of some 20,000 signatures, which, in principle, It seems easy to achieve.

Berlin is a state that operates under the German federal regime and has a local constitution that establishes a binding voting system of initiatives or Volksentscheid, which allows a framework for holding referendums.