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Berlin SPD Tables Article 15 Socialization Bill as Coalition Rift Intensifies

The draft extends expropriation powers beyond housing to public utilities and production facilities

Overview

  • SPD leaders plan to introduce the detailed draft to the Abgeordnetenhaus by mid-December, but ongoing disputes with the CDU have stalled agreement on final wording and legislative timing.
  • Under Article 15 of the Basic Law, the bill would transfer land, natural resources and production means into communal ownership.
  • It calls for a new Vergesellschaftungsbehörde to manage transfers and sets compensation for owners below market value.
  • Mayor Kai Wegner has ruled out any expropriations, warning they would undermine investor confidence and threaten Berlin’s economic stability.
  • Raed Saleh argues the law would provide a regulatory framework to cap rents and reshape the housing market without necessarily resorting to expropriations.