Berlin discusses expropriation of housing owned by large companies — Deutsche Welle
The Left Party, which won the elections in Berlin on September 20, stated its intention to implement the results of the 2021 referendum on expropriating apartments from companies that own more than 3,000 housing units. At the time, 57.6% of voters supported the idea, but Germany’s federal government opposed its implementation.
As Deutsche Welle reports, the initiative was supported by the Deutsche Wohnen & Co. enteignen movement. Its supporters and the Left Party believe that transferring the housing of major developers into public ownership could cover approximately 240,000–270,000 apartments in Berlin and make rent more affordable.
Referendum results
The referendum envisaged transferring apartments owned by large companies into public ownership, managing them through a public-law structure involving city authorities, tenants and local communities, banning re-privatization, and compensating owners at a level substantially below market value.
The vote did not oblige the Berlin state government to immediately implement the plan. Berlin’s then leader from the Social Democratic Party, Franziska Giffey, established a commission of 13 experts to assess the initiative’s compliance with Germany’s Basic Law and the compensation mechanism. In 2023, the commission concluded that expropriation was legal and possible, but budgetary issues required clarification.
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Legal and political obstacles
Berlin’s conservative government, led by Christian Democratic Union representative Kai Wegner, stated that it would not expropriate housing regardless of the commission’s conclusions. The authorities also announced preparations for a law on the socialization of property that is to define the relevant conditions while rejecting expropriation. The draft law was completed in December 2025.
Supporters of expropriation refer to Articles 14 and 15 of the Basic Law. Article 14 permits expropriation only for the public good, while Article 15 allows land, natural resources and means of production to be transferred into public ownership on the basis of a law defining compensation. At the same time, Article 15 has never been applied, and housing companies are likely to challenge such actions in court.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, following the Left Party’s victory, promised to prepare a federal law that would prohibit state governments from expropriating private property. At the same time, it remains unclear whether the federal authorities have the power to adopt such a ban. The Left Party still has to hold coalition negotiations, and the issue of expropriation may become one of the main subjects of dispute. According to an infratest-dimap poll, 37% of Berlin residents currently support the expropriation of real estate companies.
