After the demonstrations – Berlin freezes rents for five years



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For many years it has been easy to find affordable housing in the German capital, compared to other major cities in Europe. Many artists, musicians, students and young entrepreneurs have settled in Berlin.

But an occupation of about 40,000 people a year over the past decade has resulted in a housing shortage and rents have more than doubled since 2008, according to the immowelt.de real estate portal.

About 85% of Berliners rent their houses and many fear that their hosts will sell the properties and can not afford to live. A number of proposals are being discussed to address the housing crisis, including forcing private owners to take apartments and speeding up the construction of cheap housing.

The city's board of directors is now proposing to freeze rents for five years. The decision will be made by City Council this fall and will come into effect in the new year. So that the owners do not hurry to increase rents before the decision, this applies retroactively from June 18th.

But even if rents have increased in Berlin, they are still lower than those in London and Paris, for example. A double room in the trendy district of Prenzlauer Berg costs around 16,000 SEK per month, almost half the price of a similar apartment in Primrose Hill in London.

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