Berlin (AFP)
The Berlin authorities on Thursday gave the green light to hold a referendum to demand the expropriation of large real estate companies in the German capital, hit by a housing crisis, after the success of a petition that gathered more than 300,000 signatures .
The Berlin State Election Commission confirmed the validity of 183,711 signatures, out of the 346,000 submitted, "more than the number necessary" for a vote to be held, he announced in a statement.
Local Berlin law provides that a petition can be the subject of a referendum if it is signed by 7% of the electorate, or more than 170,000 people.
This vote could take place on September 26, at the same time as the legislative and local elections.
The Berlin authorities have yet to validate this date.
Its objective: to force the municipality to acquire, via a public and independent structure, the property of companies holding more than 3,000 housing units in Berlin, in order to put an end to speculation on housing in the city.
Unimaginable a few years ago, the petition has aroused the enthusiasm of many Berliners, overwhelmed by the rise in rents in this city of 3.7 million inhabitants.
The strong attractiveness of the capital for investors and the structural lack of housing actually made prices jump by nearly 85% between 2007 and 2019.
Large real estate companies are accused of being at the origin of this situation, while only 20% of Berliners own their homes.
The collective "Deutsche Wohnen Enteignen", at the origin of the project, organized since March a vast campaign to collect signatures, with stands, demonstrations, and signs displayed throughout the capital.
The recent rejection by the German Constitutional Court of the iconic rent limitation law, adopted by forceps by the left municipal majority last year, has strengthened the mobilization.
Just like the announcement in April of the merger between two giants of the sector, Deutsche Wohnen and Vonovia, as part of a mega deal of 19 billion euros, which greatly worries, even beyond the capital.
© 2021 AFP