Meeting of the black-red Senate: Gaebler completely calm

Urban Development Senator Christian Gaebler (SPD) presented the SPD's handling of the expropriation issue, which was often perceived as giving in, as virtually necessary on Tuesday. “As long as the Federal Constitutional Court has not set standards on how to deal with socialization according to Article 15 of the Basic Law and possible expropriations, this discussion will continue to follow us,” said Gaebler. “And that hinders investment and housing construction.” This issue must now be “advanced” through a state or federal law so that the court can deal with it, Gaebler said at the press conference after the Senate meeting.

The SPD, in the person of its top candidate Steffen Krach, had made it clear before the House of Representatives election on September 20th that it rejected the Left Party's expropriation plans. But at the end of the explorations about a red-green-red coalition, the Social Democrats agreed to a final paper, the consequence of which would be the socialization of 160,000 apartments from large real estate companies. This step would be reflected in a Berlin state law.

Officially, Gaebler is only sitting in the press room of the Red City Hall on Tuesday afternoon to report on the previous Senate meeting. But he still can't avoid a question about his role in the red-green-red coalition negotiations. Because the answer clearly gives him the opportunity to put a new spin on the discussion. During the coalition talks, he leads the SPD negotiators in the urban development working group, although in the past he has repeatedly represented positions other than those previously agreed upon.

Gaebler also commented on the criticism that has been heard several times from Berlin's business community that the debate about expropriation alone is damaging the business location and reducing willingness to invest. “This is pure poison for the business location,” said Jürgen Wittke, head of the Chamber of Crafts, about last week. According to Gaebler, there is currently “a certain reluctance to build, even without any socialization.” The expropriation debate has a reinforcing effect for him.

In the previous Senate meeting, the black-red state government, which remained in office until a new coalition was formed, dealt with the problematic housing market itself. It extended a legal regulation that designates Berlin as an “area with a tight housing market” by five years. This should help to establish rights of first refusal and generally help to create more apartments more quickly. This also includes the otherwise limited possibility of prohibiting the conversion of rental properties into condominiums.

Gaebler calculated that the new construction of the past two years was enough to compensate for new arrivals in Berlin. In 2024, around 16,000 new apartments would have been compared to around 15,000 new households. Gaebler attributed the fact that there are still around 100,000 apartments too few in Berlin to the strong influx in 2015/2016 and 2022 - after the Russian attack on Ukraine.

According to the building code, prerequisites must be met for the regulation, which is extended until the end of 2031, such as an above-average increase in rents on a national average and a low vacancy rate with high demand. According to Gaebler, Berlin meets three of four criteria, but only one was necessary.