General News / February 3, 2020

Berlin to freeze or lower rental prices for five years

General News / February 3, 2020

Berlin to freeze or lower rental prices for five years

In a bid to halt the adverse effects of gentrification the city is taking strong action.

Berlin is to freeze or lower its rent prices on 1.5 million homes next month following the passing of new legislation on Thursday of last week.

It follows the city’s persistent rise in rent, where rates have doubled in the last ten years. This trend has seen many of the city’s foremost creatives squeezed out. A very similar situation to that of Ireland’s capital.

Although conversely in Germany the new leftist government has been proactive in making changes to challenge the soaring rent prices that are driving out older and lower income residents.

Speaking at a news conference on Friday Katrin Lompscher, Berlin’s senator for city development and living said, “We have created an instrument that will stop the partially absurd price developments for the next five years.”

“It is up to politicians to create the basic conditions for lower and middle class earners to be able to afford to live in Berlin.”

The law will limit increases to 1.3% per year in line with inflation and permits rent to be lowered  if they are more than 20% higher than limits set out in a local ‘rent table’.

There has been opposition to the bill and members of the Christian Democratic Union called it unconstitutional. Others claim it will have adverse effects on real estate investments in the city.

Photo: Christoph Soeder/DPA