Left slams minister's plans to block Berlin housing expropriations

Berlin mayoral hopeful Elif Eralp, whose far-left party won last month's regional elections in the German capital, on Monday described a bid by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt to block plans by her party to expropriate thousands of flats from commercial landlords as unconstitutional.

"You cannot use a federal law to overturn what is provided for in the Basic Law and what the people of Berlin have voted for," Eralp said on the morning show of public broadcaster ZDF, referring to Germany's constitution.

Her comments come as Dobrindt is pushing for new federal legislation that would impose significant hurdles on Eralp's plans to bring large swathes of Berlin's housing stock into public ownership.

Her Left party aims to bring around 160,000 flats under public ownership in line with a 2021 referendum, in which a majority of Berliners backed the expropriation of large property developers to curb rent prices.

The party, which is vying to appoint a Berlin mayor for the first time, is expected to begin formal coalition talks with the Greens and the Social Democrats (SPD) in November.

The plans have drawn fierce opposition from Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives at the national level, setting the stage for a confrontation between the federal government and Berlin's likely next administration.

Under the proposed scheme, five companies who each own more than 10,000 flats in the German capital would be forced to sell all units above that threshold for a total of €16 billion ($17.7 billion).

Interior Minister Dobrindt, who argues that the plans would scare off investors, aims to make that more difficult.

Under his law, the expropriation of flats would only be possible if a regional government can show that it has exhausted all other possible options to fight the housing crisis, including new investments and subsidies for housing construction.

If that is the case, housing to be brought under public ownership must be paid in cash, meaning it cannot be financed by loans, and at market value, as determined by an expert valuation.

If passed, the federal legislation could effectively derail Berlin's expropriation drive. The €16 billion envisaged by the city's likely next government is believed to be below market value, while Berlin's notoriously strained finances would make a cash purchase particularly difficult.

Eralp strongly criticized the details of the plan.

"In my view, this law has nothing to do with protecting investment," she said.

She described the planned law as being directed against Berlin's tenants. "Of course, we will not accept that."