Overview
- With the Abgeordnetenhaus vote set for September 20, Vergesellschaftung — a plan to transfer large private rental portfolios into public or common ownership — is the top issue shaping party messages and voter choice.
- Main parties are sharply divided: Die Linke and the Greens back implementing the 2021 Deutsche Wohnen & Co. enteignen referendum while the CDU and SPD oppose carrying it out under a state law using Article 15 of the Basic Law.
- Official and campaign cost estimates differ widely, with the Berlin Landesrechnungshof putting compensation at up to €36 billion based on market value and the initiative offering a lower ceiling near €17 billion by valuing payouts at about 40–60% of market prices and financing them with state bonds.
- Banks, industry groups and the Investitionsbank Berlin warn that moving large portfolios into public ownership would weaken investor confidence and already show early signs of caution among start-ups and financiers.
- The debate is rooted in a severe housing shortage and rising rents in Berlin — the Senate estimates more than 100,000 missing homes and asking rents up roughly 70% — and the outcome could shape whom the next Senate serves and whether the initiative succeeds with a new Volksbegehren later this year.