The Berlin owners and developers are delighted.
The German Constitutional Court on Thursday annulled the very symbolic law, promulgated a year ago by the leaders of the capital - governed by a coalition between the Social Democrats, the Greens and the extreme left - in order to regulate rents, victims of overheating.
The Land of Berlin - which is one of the sixteen autonomous regions of the country, with their own government - is not competent to regulate rents, said the magistrates of the highest court of the country.
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This is a setback for residents of the metropolis of 3.6 million inhabitants, 85% of which are tenants.
Since February 23, 2020, the rents of 1.5 million apartments had been frozen at the level of June 2019, and this until 2025. It is also a political defeat for the coalition of the Greens and the left governing the capital, which had made this law an emblem of its mandate.
Finally, it is a blow to the power of the regions, at a time when, in the midst of a health crisis, the federal state is seeking to regain control of the Länder.
A dark day
"
A dark day for Berlin tenants
", summarizes Sören Bartol, vice-president of the social democratic faction in the Bundestag, in charge of real estate policy.
After remaining much lower than those of major European metropolises, rents have more than doubled since 2008. The “
poor but sexy
”
red city,
as the mayor Klaus Wowereit (SPD) described it in 2003, has gradually become more expensive and gentrified.
The movement is particularly visible in the eastern districts such as Prenzlauer Berg, a dissident neighborhood during the GDR era where many prosperous families now live.
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In Kreuzberg, wealthy urban youth rub shoulders with a strong and historic Turkish community.
In the face of speculation, Berlin the red nevertheless retains its rebellious character.
In the central and tourist district of Mitte, where institutions and office buildings are gathered, the Liebig 34 squat, one of the last libertarian vestiges of the capital, was evacuated in violence in October.
Occasionally, promoters' cars are set on fire.
An unconstitutional law
The law, which provided for fines against recalcitrant owners of up to 500,000 euros, has produced mixed effects in the market.
In a report from the Central Real Estate Committee (ZIA) published in the fall of 2020, rents were down 5.7% on average compared to the previous year, while being accompanied by a scarcity of the offer.
The number of apartments offered by the public sector has halved in one year.
Thanks to the court which put an end to the ideology of the left
Markus Blume, General Secretary of the Bavarian CSU
More than 280 Bundestag deputies, Christian Democrats and Liberals appealed to the magistrates of the Karlsruhe court.
The law, they explained, was unconstitutional since the federal state had already passed legislation in 2015 to curb speculation.
The judges agreed with them.
"
Thank you to the court which put an end to the ideology of the left
", welcomed on Twitter the general secretary of the Bavarian CSU, Markus Blume.
In a country where the Constitution has a fetish value, the Berlin leaders bow to the arguments of the court.
The federal state, they conclude, will have to legislate to allow a rent freeze.
For Rolf Buch, whose Vonovia company owns 36,000 apartments in the capital, the Karlsruhe judgment will fuel tensions between owners and tenants.
“
The atmosphere in Berlin has become radicalized, because development has been too rapid,
”
the country's largest owner
explains to
Spiegel
.
“
Ten years ago, we saw gross rents of two to three euros per square meter.
Then prices exploded and wages did not follow
. "