Berlin's Left Party won 25.3% of the vote and is negotiating a coalition with the SPD and Greens. Their housing plan includes new public housing, tighter rent regulation and the proposed expropriation of about 220,000 apartments from large landlords—an idea that had 59% support in a 2021 advisory referendum. Past rent caps reduced rents for roughly 300,000 units but were struck down by Germany's Constitutional Court. Analysts warn mass seizures could require costly compensation, deter private investment, and limit funds for new social housing, while the federal government has proposed banning state expropriations and creating a national housing builder.
Berlin's Left Wins Big, Pledges to Seize 220,000 Private Flats in Push to Tame Rents
Stefan Boness/Ipon/SIPA/Newscom
The Left Party, led by Elif Eralp, surged to 25.3% in Berlin's state election and has begun coalition talks with the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens to form a new city government. Central to the Left's platform is a sweeping housing plan that combines public construction, tighter rent regulation and the controversial proposal to expropriate roughly 220,000 apartments owned by large real-estate companies.
What the Left Is Proposing
The party argues that municipalizing a large portion of the city's rental stock would allow Berlin to curb speculation and stabilize rents. Eralp told the Russian-German magazine Wir:
"Expropriation serves the purpose of being able to regulate rents, which we can't currently do with private owners. This takes these apartments out of speculation and out of the possibility of profiting from the housing shortage."
The proposal draws on a 2021 advisory referendum in which 59% of voters supported seizing around a quarter-million apartments from major landlords.
Past Experience With Rent Controls
Berlin previously experimented with broad rent controls. Those measures produced real rent reductions for roughly 300,000 units, benefiting existing tenants, but the policy was struck down by Germany's Constitutional Court in 2021, which concluded that rent-capping authority lay with the federal government. The rent-control episode also coincided with a sharp reduction in the number of units covered by controls and higher asking prices on the uncontrolled market.
Practical and Legal Challenges
Policy analysts who scrutinized the 2021 referendum warned that large-scale expropriation could have several downsides: it may deter private investment in new construction, require substantial compensation to former owners, and divert public funds away from the social housing construction the Left also proposes. Those trade-offs could blunt the policy's intended effect on overall housing supply.
Political Response and the National Context
Internationally, some left-leaning outlets celebrated the result; Jacobin ran the headline, "First we took Manhattan, then we took Berlin," drawing a parallel to progressive housing debates in cities like New York. Critics note a tension: the Left seeks both to attract private capital for more housing and to apply strong restrictions on private landlords—policies that can work at cross-purposes.
At the federal level, Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the Christian Democrats announced a July plan to bar state governments from expropriating private housing. Instead, the national government has proposed setting up a central, government-run housing construction company to support supply. Unless Berlin's national-policy environment changes, that move would constrain the Left's ability to carry out mass municipalization.
Local Controversies
Despite criticizing developers and chronic shortages, the Left has opposed a separate proposal to build about 21,000 apartments on the fringes of the former Tempelhofer Feld airport, a plan whose future remains contested. The Greens and SPD—potential coalition partners—are reportedly skeptical of rapid municipalization and of blocking major construction projects.
Outlook
Analysts broadly argue that addressing Berlin's housing crisis will require a mix of public investment and private-sector construction. A city government intent on severely reducing private ownership could discourage the very investment needed to expand supply, while ambitious public programs will face legal, fiscal and political constraints.
Note: This article summarizes reported proposals and political responses as of the Berlin state election; negotiations among potential coalition partners are ongoing and details may evolve.
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