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Mailboxes in the entrance to Nogatstrasse 1: Nobody knows exactly how many people live in the house
Photo: private
Maren Bode often wakes up in the middle of the night and is startled by the noise from the neighboring house.
Usually it is chairs, cupboards or mattresses that are thrown out of the window and crash into the courtyard.
"The last time someone fired at two in the morning with a blank gun and then set off a few firecrackers," says Bode.
Bode then calls the police on such nights.
The officers already know the address in Berlin-Neukölln.
This year alone, they went to work on Nogatstrasse 232 times.
House number 1 is a dirty old building, four stories high, twenty mailboxes hang in the entrance area, the names are pasted over several times or scribbled over with felting pen.
Nobody knows exactly how many people are currently living there.
Neighbor Maren Bode says the house is always overcrowded.
A resident who is sitting with her for coffee nods in confirmation.
Several times a week, the two vans with Romanian or Bulgarian license plates watch young men and women get out and disappear into the house.
Mountains of rubbish and rats
Bode lives in the immediate vicinity, even through her closed windows she can hear the noise, even at night.
The other resident last called the police about a fight.
Neither of them want to read your real name in the newspaper.
Other neighbors who complained about the conditions in house no. 1 were threatened.
The problems in Nogatstrasse have long been known in the district: neighbors complain of noise, plaster is crumbling from the facade;
In the inner courtyard mountains of rubbish keep piling up and attracting rats.
In July, the Berlin "Tagesspiegel" reported on the situation.
Landlord Thilo Peter was on the board of the CDU Charlottenburg-Nord until then, after which public criticism he resigned.
He claims the tenants are renting lodgings without his knowledge.
But it's not just the neighbors who accuse Peter of specifically promoting overcrowding.
The authorities have long since kept an eye on the tax advisor.
In the district office it is said that "a number of construction defects and regular pest infestation are known".
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Mountains of rubbish in the courtyard: there are always problems with rats
Photo: private
The house stands for a conflict with many participants and responsibilities that are difficult to understand for those affected.
Apparently that's exactly why things have changed for years: nothing.
It is a never-ending series of complaints: the police record reports of disturbance of the peace and refer to the public order office, which in turn points to the police.
The Neukölln public order office feels responsible for the garbage in front of the house, but the building and health department has to take care of the garbage in the yard.
The youth welfare office should intervene if there is a suspicion that the child is at risk.
The landlord cannot or does not want to do anything.
The victims are the residents themselves. People from Eastern Europe, including many Roma, who find it difficult to find an apartment in this country and are therefore apparently happy to have a roof over their heads at all.
Questions are asked primarily by neighbors like Maren Bode, who have been fighting for years to ensure that something changes in their neighborhood.
"This is a hotel!"
According to the district office, a total of 174 people are currently registered in the building complex Nogatstrasse 1 and Kirchhofstrasse 14.
Bode estimates that there are twice as many: "This is a hotel!"
The other neighbor saw a young man hand the caretaker bills and then go upstairs.
It seems that this plays a central role in the conflict.
On one of her last visits, the bearded man intercepted social worker Ágnes Simon.
"He wanted to know who I was looking for," says the 40-year-old from the Neukölln neighborhood home.
The caretaker is not available for the press, he leaves inquiries unanswered.
The residents would have no chance on the housing market
Simon explains that there are two types of tenants in the house.
"The families we look after want good tenancy agreements. They have lived in this house for many years and have renovated their apartments themselves. It is their home."
These people would have no chance in the housing market anywhere else, they suffered like their neighbors under the conditions, says Simon.
In her opinion, the short-term tenants who get out of the sprinters at night are to blame for the dirt and noise.
Residents told her "that the caretaker does his own business and lets strangers live in the attic".
Many felt controlled by the man.
The families she advises therefore only meet outside.
It is difficult for outsiders to ask the people in the house their version of the story.
Many of the tenants speak only a few words of German.
They say no to you if you speak to them in front of the house.
The residents in Nogatstrasse feel left alone.
"There were benevolent groups of seats and meetings with some tenants, but what should that change?" Says one of the neighbors.
The problem is being educated.
"Those responsible accuse us of prejudice instead of becoming politically active themselves."
When there is talk of racism and cultural differences, she can only smile tiredly.
"I grew up in this district," says the neighbor. "People from all nations live on our street, that's not an issue for us."
And adds: "Besides, I don't know of any culture in which people want to live in the dirt."
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Shouldn't the homeowner be primarily interested in fixing the problems?
Or does he really collect twice from the subtenants?
He is not aware of any illegal business in the house, owner Thilo Peter denies all accusations.
The caretaker has been working for him for 15 years.
"We have a friendly relationship, he is a warm person," said Peter.
"I can understand that he seems authoritarian, but he would never threaten violence."
"What should I do?" Complains the landlord
Thilo Peter defends himself that he is not responsible for the rule violations by his tenants.
"What should I do? They introduce themselves sensibly and then an extended family moves in."
Because there were not enough house keys, the lodgers damaged door locks.
Neighbors would then dump their bulky waste in the yard.
He cannot terminate without notice.
"I need proof for that. But who stands there and counts, who comes and who goes?"
Thilo Peter is not quite as powerless as he pretends to be when faced with overcrowding.
If more people lived in the apartment than agreed in the rental agreement, the landlord could warn them and ask them to leave, says Ute Franke, a real estate lawyer.
If this does not happen, the landlord can terminate the tenancy.
In practice, this is not always easy to implement, but in the end you can still bring an eviction claim.
In order for this to be processed by the court at all, the landlord has to pay between 500 and 1000 euros per apartment as advance court costs, depending on the net rent.
Plus any costs for a lawyer.
"But as long as he has rental income, he will not be interested in it," says the lawyer.
Little hope
"That's rubbish," replies Peter to the allegations.
He could earn a lot more money if he would "simply rent the apartments through Airbnb or prepare them for refugees".
He regularly had defects complained about by the district or regulatory office rectified.
For the people in Nogatstrasse there is little hope that things will soon change.
In the Neukölln district of Schillerkiez, an inter-agency working group was founded ten years ago for a similar problem property, in which employees from various offices worked with social workers to find a solution.
Such a task force could also be helpful in Nogatstrasse.
Maren Bode is now seriously considering moving.
Most recently, she reported a new rat infestation in the neighboring house to the health department.
She waited two weeks for an answer.
Then the authorities wrote to her: "If possible, please let us know which property management company is responsible for the property at Nogatstrasse 1."
She did that.
She has not heard from the office since then.
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