Rent demo in Berlin: “For a city that we shape ourselves”

Living is becoming more and more expensive, apartments are becoming an object of speculation and displacement is part of everyday life for many Berliners.

In an interview, Kim Maier explains why the alliance against displacement and rent madness is on January 5th.

takes to the streets in September.

And what they think needs to change in housing policy.

You are organizing on the 5th.

September a demo under the motto “Bring on the apartments!

Down with the rents!” – What is the specific reason for taking to the streets right now?

We - the alliance against displacement and rent madness - met at the end of last year for a large consultation with many housing policy initiatives and decided to organize this demo.

Regardless of whether it is evictions for personal use, rising rents, more and more homeless people or fraudulent real estate companies: the social cleansing of cities continues.

But this has also given rise to a large and very active movement that is fighting against displacement and for the right to housing.

Currently it is the reduction in housing benefit and the federal government's attempt to prevent the implementation of the referendum on the socialization of large real estate companies.

Almost everyone in Berlin complains about the housing market.

What are the specific problems that people have?

Real estate companies and other landlords increase the rent every year, but wages cannot keep up.

Those who move or have to move here often search for a year or longer.

And anyone who earns less than 5,000 euros net has to move to the outer peripheral areas.

The ring track becomes a wall between the classes.

In addition, tens of thousands are threatened with evictions or have already lost their homes because of it.

However, due to the high pressure on the rental market, many cannot find a new apartment.

A lot of those affected have already gone to court and won.

It's not just Vonovia that has a lot of criminal energy to falsify utility bills or refuse necessary maintenance.

This has not least to do with the influence of private investors who are currently entering the market.

All of this leads to more and more housing and homelessness.

It's not just those who are at the mercy of the private housing market who are threatened by this.

The topic of housing is always the subject of major discussions in both the Berlin Senate and the Bundestag.

What measures were recently taken there and what impact do they have on tenants?

Every now and then the Senate passes a law that is intended to regulate the housing market somewhat.

However, he often allocates far too few staff to implement the law, which then effectively makes it ineffective.

That was the case with the ban on misappropriation, and we suspect something similar with the rent register and other efforts that have now been passed.

The federal government with Minister Verena Hubertz (SPD) wants to cut housing benefit.

This will hardly save any money, as many will then have to apply for basic security.

It would be easier to introduce a nationwide rent cap.

Then the federal and state governments would have to pay less housing benefit.

You are calling for the large real estate companies to be socialized - the referendum “Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co” was already a few years ago.

How do you imagine the implementation of such a requirement and what would this change to the living situation in Berlin?

Private profit-oriented real estate companies that own more than 3,000 apartments in Berlin would be expropriated in accordance with Article 15 of the Basic Law in order to transfer their holdings to public ownership.

Cooperatives should not be expropriated.

The affected companies would be compensated well below market value.

An institution under public law (AöR) will be created to manage the holdings, which would then be managed with the democratic participation of the city society, tenants, employees and the Senate.

This means that a lot of the apartments that the Berlin Senate has sold over the last 30 years would be brought back.

The right to housing would be secured for renters and this housing stock.

And it is a clear signal to private investors who only see apartments as concrete gold.

In 2019, together with Deutsche Wohnen & Co, we used our demo to persuade the Senate to introduce a rent cap.

For example, he could immediately introduce a rent cap for the state-owned housing companies.

Simply enforcing existing tenancy law and creating legal certainty for tenants would be helpful.

Above all, it is about representing the interests of the 85 percent of tenants in Berlin and not private real estate companies that drive up rents.

Private sector construction only ends in luxury lofts and deserted neighborhoods.

Who should on the 5th?

Be sure to come along in September and what can the participants expect in front of the Red Town Hall?

Everyone who lives or wants to live here should come.

Those who live in state-owned housing companies or cooperatives should also come.

They are also constantly threatened by rent increases and evictions.

And everyone who believes that housing is a human right.

In the opening rally, many initiatives will have their say, choirs will sing, other music will come from Bernadette la Hengst.

A total of ten blocks are organized in the demo, representing the diversity of Berlin's housing policy movement.

We demand a nationwide rent cap, the expropriation of large real estate companies and a right to housing for everyone.

We'll fight together on the 5th.

September for renters, homeless people, discriminated against people who live in this city but don't own it.

We are for a city that we shape ourselves.

The post Rent demo in Berlin: “For a city that we shape ourselves” first appeared on perspective.