The German political scene is intensifying its actions in the face of the housing crisis. The Green Party has proposed introducing a five-year ban on terminating rental contracts due to the landlord's personal needs for tenants who enforce the rent brake. Simultaneously, Berlin's Left Party is pushing the "Sicher-Wohnen-Gesetz" (Secure Living Act), which aims to compel large landlords to reserve apartments for individuals with social housing eligibility certificates, targeting the rising cost of living in the capital.

Protection against eviction

The Greens want a 5-year ban on Eigenbedarf (personal needs) terminations for tenants fighting for lower rent.

Quotas for WBS holders

The Left Party proposes mandatory quotas of apartments for low-income individuals in Berlin.

Fighting loneliness

Politicians advocate for expanding social infrastructure to mitigate isolation in cities.

The German housing market is becoming the arena for increasingly sharp political disputes, with new proposals from coalition and opposition parties going significantly further than previous regulations. The Greens, part of the federal government, assess the current draft by Federal Minister of Justice Stefanie Hubig of the SPD as insufficient. They postulate that tenants who successfully enforce the rent brake should receive five-year protection against contract termination due to so-called landlord's personal needs. This is intended to prevent retaliatory actions by landlords, who often use this legal loophole to get rid of inconvenient tenants. The institution of termination due to personal needs (Eigenbedarf) is deeply rooted in the German Civil Code (BGB), dating back to 1900. While the law protects private property, the jurisprudence of the Federal Court of Justice has evolved over decades towards balancing the interests of owners and the social function of housing. In parallel, the local Left Party in Berlin presented a draft law "Sicher-Wohnen-Gesetz". This draft proposes imposing an obligation on large property owners to allocate a fixed percentage of apartments to individuals holding a WBS (social housing eligibility certificate). The party argues that the Berlin Senate under Kai Wegner is doing too little to protect residents from "imposed" rent increases and social isolation. „Kai Wegners Senat tut viel zu wenig, um die Mieterinnen und Mieter in unserer Stadt vor dreisten Vermietern und teuren Mieten zu schützen” (Kai Wegner's Senate is doing far too little to protect tenants in our city from brazen landlords and expensive rents) — Elif Eralp Beyond purely economic issues, the Left Party draws attention to the problem of loneliness in metropolises, advocating for the creation of public spaces free from the pressure of consumption. Criticism also comes from media and experts, who point out that the rental market in Germany currently resembles "Swiss cheese" full of legal loopholes. Despite the existence of rent brakes, actual rates in large cities continue to rise, leading to calls for even stronger state intervention in the market economy of the real estate sector.

Mentioned People

  • Stefanie Hubig — Federal Minister of Justice from the SPD, author of the current rental reform draft.
  • Elif Eralp — Leading candidate of Berlin's Left Party in the upcoming elections, co-author of the housing law.
  • Kai Wegner — Governing Mayor of Berlin from the CDU, criticized by the opposition for insufficient housing policy.