Berlin: Fines over social housing sold as condominiums may go unpaid

The Tagesspiegel reported in 2024 that in Berlin's Neukölln district, flats with social-housing restrictions were being sold as expensive condominiums. Fines were then imposed because of this.

According to the newspaper, an insolvency procedure could now prevent those fines from being paid. It says that if the company that owns the building becomes insolvent, the penalty payments for breaching the social-housing restrictions could come to nothing.

The case concerns a building in Neukölln-Rixdorf. The paper reports that most of its flats, which are subject to social-housing restrictions, have been empty for years. This stands in contrast to the wider situation in the city, since affordable homes are in short supply in Berlin.

The source text is a short teaser, and it does not give the amount of the fines, the name of the owner company or details of the insolvency proceedings.