Overview

• On July 15 the Berlin Senate adopted Wohnungsbündnis 2.0, converting the pact into an association alliance that excludes individual real estate companies
• Mayor Kai Wegner reaffirmed the unchanged goal of delivering 20,000 new apartments per year to tackle an “immense” housing shortage
• The pact focuses on accelerating new construction after three years of unmet targets against the original annual benchmark
• Important tenant and industry groups such as the Berliner Mieterverein and Zentrale Immobilien-Ausschuss remain outside the alliance, and firms like Adler have withdrawn while Vonovia flouted rent-increase agreements
• BBU board member Maren Kern urged significant simplification of building regulations and approval processes to lower costs under current financing pressures