The highest court in the city-state of Berlin has declared the government-set rent ceiling unconstitutional with the intention of curbing land speculation and guaranteeing access to housing in all districts of the capital.

"The Berlin Court considers that the legal provisions of the 'rent ceiling' are formally unconstitutional, since the federal state of Berlin lacks legislative power in this regard (like the other federal states)," the court statement said.

The Chamber released the decision shortly after the Constitutional Court rejected a complaint by the urgent route of an owners association, since the lower instance had not failed.

The lack of competence of the federal states in housing policy highlighted by the high court, was also one of the reasons why the conservative (CDU) and liberal (FDP) parties questioned the measure from the beginning, in addition to the interference that the same rule was made in the right of contractual freedom, base in the market economy.

The law to freeze rents came into force on February 23, without waiting for the resolution of the judicial processes initiated by the homeowners associations, which saw a violation of private property and their freedom to dispose of it. .

The rent ceiling, initially planned for five years, set the maximum at 9.80 euros per square meter , well below market prices, and also retroactively, forcing owners to lower prices and return the difference to the tenant. The measure affects 1.5 million homes in the German capital, with 85% of its population on a rental basis .

The judgment of the Berlin high court represents a great cold water stream for the left-wing tripartite, and not only because the measure was especially popular, but because legal reports on the matter have been ignored throughout the process of processing the rule. Until two weeks ago, the Berlin government, which also sought to serve as an example to other European regions and cities with the same housing problems, were confident of their victory. "We are calm despite the fact that the law has yet to be reviewed in court," said head of urban development Katrin Lompscher.

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  • Berlin
  • constitutional Court
  • Rental
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