How cities around the world are fighting rising rents



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The State of New York pbaded a law to protect low-income families from soaring rents

Berlin has become the last battleground against gentrification, and authorities are preparing Tuesday to freeze rents for five years to end the costs that skyrocket.

Other capitals have adopted different approaches. Here is an overview of some of them.

New York

Lawmakers in the state of New York pbaded last Friday (June 14) a bill to protect low-income families from soaring rents.

The new law eliminates the rules allowing homeowners to increase rent when an apartment changes hands.

This will also prevent new tenants from being billed for large-scale renovations by increasing their rents, and will help prevent homeowners from reducing the number of rent-controlled apartments.

According to official figures, since 1994, approximately 300,000 rent-controlled apartments have disappeared in the city of New York alone.

This has forced low-income families and even middle-clbad families to relocate, fueling the gentrification of the Big Apple, one of the 10 most expensive cities in the world.

The new law is expected to directly affect an estimated 2.4 million New Yorkers, out of a population of about 8.5 million residents, who live in nearly one million apartments in New York. controlled rent.

Vienna

The Austrian city bears the title of "capital of the most affordable housing" thanks to its important social heritage.

Of its 1.9 million inhabitants, six out of ten live in city-owned apartments or non-profit developers, which helps curb rising rents.

The city maintains the qualifying ceiling for social housing at 3,317 euros (3,728 dollars) on a 14-month basis for an individual and 6,245 euros for a family of four, which means that this property remains at the reach of middle-clbad families.

Since such apartments can be pbaded on to family members, critics say the cap does not take into account changes in income or family structure.

Barcelona

Rentals have increased by 35% since 2010, in part due to the proliferation of lucrative holiday apartments driven by Airbnb in the Spanish seaside town.

In an effort to reduce uncontrollable rates, the city has forced thousands of rented apartment owners in the short term, without a tourism permit, to cease their activities. It has also stopped issuing new licenses for such short-term rentals.

Authorities have also hired people to screen Airbnb ads to identify people who violate the law.

Paris

The French capital will begin to apply a rent ceiling from July 1, bringing a measure already deployed between 2015 and 2017.

The limit adds to another measure in place for several years, which limits the sharp increases in rent when apartments change hands between tenants.

In order to dissipate the pressure on housing by Airbnb, the city is also seeking to prohibit such short-term rentals in the city center.

Stockholm

Rentals in the Swedish capital are strictly regulated: 44% rented by institutions or individuals.

Their rates are determined annually, jointly by the owners and the tenant badociation.

To get one of these apartments, interested people should sign up for a queue with a waiting list of up to 20 years or win a draw at comes out a lot like a lottery.

The holder of such a lease can keep it for life and even exchange it for another apartment. But the conditions for the sublease are limited to military service or an badignment abroad.

The other apartments are rented by individual owners, but only with the agreement of the other owners of the building. Leases are, however, often short and non-transferable.

The highly regulated market has created a black market where potential tenants are desperate for an apartment to buy a lease with additional cash, or to sublet without the necessary permission.

In 2017, a government report revealed that one out of four leases had been obtained fraudulently.

(With the exception of the title, this story was not changed by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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