Berlin Senate moves to extend tight housing market status to 2031

Berlin's Senate has set in motion the extension of a legal ordinance under which the city's housing market would officially count as tight until 2031. Building and housing senator Christian Gaebler (SPD) announced this. The step is not final: the Council of Mayors (Rat der Bürgermeister) still has to approve it. The current version of the ordinance expires at the end of 2026.

The ordinance gives the state several powers. Berlin has a right of first refusal for certain vacant or undeveloped plots, and owners can be required by the authorities to build housing on certain areas. The state can also regulate the conversion of rental homes into owner-occupied apartments. In Berlin, such conversions in so-called Milieuschutz areas, which aim to protect residents from displacement, need approval and are allowed only in exceptional cases. In addition, the rent brake applies on tight markets. It generally limits rents in new lettings to at most ten percent above the local comparative rent.

A market can be classed as tight if the supply of enough housing for the population is at risk. According to Gaebler, this is the case in Berlin. He said new construction has managed to offset the inflow of people over the past three years. However, a large backlog in housing construction remains, which he said arose mainly from many arrivals in 2016/17 and 2022, when many refugees, including people fleeing the war in Ukraine, came to Berlin. The report comes from dpa via Tagesspiegel.