Berlin to impose rent freeze 'so it doesn't end up like London'

Berlin to impose rent freeze 'so it doesn't end up like London'

Berlin rents have been rising rapidly as people are drawn to the German capital CREDIT: MICHAEL ZEGERS / LOOK-FOTO/GETTY

 Justin Huggler, berlin

12 JUNE 2019 • 2:53PM

The German finance minister has backed controversial proposals for a five-year rent freeze to tackle the rising cost of living in Berlin, warning: "We don't want to end up like London”.

Olaf Scholz, who is also vice-chancellor in Angela Merkel’s coalition government, voiced support for plans to block landlords from increasing rent on residential properties for five years.

“If we don't want to end up like London, where even lawyers and doctors have to live with flatmates, because they can't afford their own apartment, then we have to do something about it,” Mr Scholz told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

Berliners have traditionally revelled in the image of their city as “poor but sexy”, as it was famously described by a former mayor, but that is increasingly at odds with reality.

Rents have risen rapidly as Germany’s booming economy has attracted people from across Europe, and the city has seen protests from locals complaining they are being priced out of the market.

The Berlin regional government is planning to introduce measures next week that would freeze residential rents for the next five years, making it illegal for landlords to impose increases.

But the measure has proved controversial, with at least one landlords’ association advising its members to raise rents  before the new measures can be approved.

The Haus & Grund association advised landlords to increase rents by 15 per cent — the maximum currently permitted — before June 18.

Berlin is by no means Germany's most expensive city. Rents still lag behind rivals like Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt, but they have been rising faster than anywhere else in Germany in recent years.

A typical one-bedroom flat costs €990 (£880) a month to rent in Berlin, compared to £1,550 a month in London, according to European Commission figures.

So far the Berlin authorities have resisted calls for more drastic action, including controversial proposals to expropriate flats from the city’s largest landlords and use them as council housing.