Overview
- Ines Schwerdtner, federal co‑leader of Die Linke, said on Friday that compensated Vergesellschaftung of large housing companies must be a precondition for her party to join a Berlin state government.
- Die Linke’s Berlin election program formally commits to drafting a Vergesellschaftung law to transfer large private rental stocks into public or collective control with compensation.
- SPD candidate Steffen Krach and Green lead candidate Werner Graf publicly rejected making expropriation a coalition condition, signaling early coalition deadlock with Die Linke.
- The federal government agreed in July in principle to explore a law to bar state-level socialization of private flats, but officials have made little visible progress and the window before the 20 September Berlin vote is short.
- Legal limits complicate any move: the Basic Law allows socialization in theory while also requiring compensation, and the 2021 ‘Deutsche Wohnen & Co. enteignen’ referendum gives public legitimacy to the demand while leaving practical and financial questions unresolved.