The sale of apartments in Berlin continues (Berliner Zeitung, 30 Sep 2020)
The sale of apartments in Berlin continues
Original headline in German: Der Ausverkauf von Wohnungen in Berlin geht weiter
By Ulrich Paul. Published in Berliner Zeitung on 30 September 2020
Summary (via Google Translate)
The conversion of rental apartments into condominiums is seen as the engine of displacement in cities like Berlin. Actually, the conversion should therefore be restricted more. At least that was how it was agreed at the residential summit in the Chancellery two years ago. But now at least the CDU does not want to know anything about it. In any case, the draft for the building land mobilization law from the house of building minister Horst Seehofer (CSU), which has now been sent to the ministries involved for departmental coordination, no longer contains a conversion ban.
For tenants, converting their apartment into property is particularly problematic because owners can get a higher price when selling an apartment that has not been rented. The incentive to persuade the regular tenants to move out is therefore great. The figures from the 2019/2020 real estate market report of the expert committee for property values in Berlin show exactly how big. Former rental apartments built up to 1919, which were converted into condominiums, then cost an average of 3,540 euros per square meter of living space last year if they were sold as rented. When they were not rented, the apartments brought in an average of 4,668 euros per square meter - i.e. 1,128 euros more per square meter. In a 100 square meter apartment, that makes a difference of 112,800 euros.
Keywords: Berlin, Germany, rental market, tenants, home ownership, condominiums, regulation
There's more information and data about this issue, from the tenants' point of view, on the website of the Berlin Tenants' Association: "Mieterverein fordert von Bundeskanzlerin Merkel Einlösung der Wohngipfel-Versprechen".
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