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The Inside Story of How Berlin Took On Corporate Landlords and Won

Lott-Lavigna, Ruby
http://www.vice.com/en/article/the-inside-story-of-how-berlin-took-on-corporate-landlords-and-won/?fbclid=IwAR0rGm4mbeEgaxX4_Qj-zE4FhXau8ETGTPyd94Z6jdwDAob0u_sQ2lYuKNU

Publisher:  Vice
Date Written:  27/09/2021
Year Published:  2021  
Resource Type:  Article

Kilian Weisser, like many Berlin residents, lives in an apartment block owned by a corporate landlord: Heimstaden, which owns around another 6,000 flats in the city. Disputing his rent, Weisser argued that due to another housing law that caps certain rents depending on the area, €720 was way too high. Heimstaden disagreed, but did offer a slightly lower rent. Weisser rejected the offer, demanding that the rent return to €420, which he believed was legal. But without the means to take the landlord to court, Weisser continues to pay the high increased rent, along with hundreds of thousands of other people in Berlin.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

Hufeisensiedlung found itself the centre of Berlin's housing referendum. Designed by architect Bruno Taut in 1925 after a housing shortage fuelled by the First World War, it was an example of progressive social housing which sought to prioritise the living standards of residents. Today, however, the building is privately owned by Deutsche Wohnen, one of Berlin's biggest corporate landlords, with a property portfolio worth €26.2 billion. If the result of the referendum – which is technically only advisory – is successfully implemented by Berlin's state government, these flats will return to public ownership.

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