Fed Government's Anti-Socialization Law Stalls — No Ministry Wants Responsibility

Following Berlin's post-election plans to socialize the housing stock of large landlords, Chancellor Friedrich Merz promised investors in July 2026 that federal law would prevent any such expropriation: 'There are no expropriations of private property in Germany.' State building ministers had formally requested federal action in June, and the coalition agreed to act in July. However, by late October 2026 the Tagesspiegel reported that the legislation has made no real progress because 'nobody wants to be responsible' — responsible ministries are each pointing to the other, and legal experts flag significant constitutional difficulties in overriding Article 15 of the Basic Law, which explicitly permits socialization. A separate Tagesspiegel article on 22 October quoted law professor Maximilian Pichl, one of 227 prominent signatories of an open letter against the blocking measure, arguing that Article 15 represents an intentional post-war compromise enshrining economic pluralism and that restricting it is constitutionally dubious. Actors Katharina Thalbach and Corinna Harfouch were among the cultural figures who signed the letter. Meanwhile in Berlin, the three prospective coalition parties — Linke, Greens, SPD — planned to socialise roughly 160,000 apartments from companies exceeding the 10,000-unit threshold, with compensation capped at €16 billion.