Rent referendum Berlin

The rent referendum in Berlin was a result of the Mietvolksentscheid e. V. aspired Berlin referendum on the Berlin Housing Supply Act, which was withdrawn by the initiators after the law was largely adopted by the Berlin Senate and passed by the Berlin House of Representatives .

The initiative is committed (in December 2019) to the Berlin rent cap and the referendum to expropriate Deutsche Wohnen .

Process and development

On March 10, 2015, the initiators presented their project at a press conference. They announced that they would start an information campaign to collect the signatures. At the end of March 2015, the collection of 20,000 signatures for a referendum began. On June 1, 2015, 49,249 signatures were submitted, 40,214 of which were valid.

After discussions with the Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment and the Berlin SPD parliamentary group , the conclusion of talks on the proposed law was announced on August 19, 2015 at two successive press conferences, after which the draft law was largely adopted. Around 1.4 billion euros are to be spent over five years for the measures contained in the compromise draft. The "Law on the Realignment of Social Housing Supply in Berlin" (Berlin Housing Supply Act) was passed on November 12, 2015 and came into force on January 1, 2016. As legal doubts about the draft law were expressed by the responsible Senate administration during the admission test for the referendum phase , the initiative decided to withdraw the petition for a referendum. The initiative reserved the right to seek a further referendum on the implementation of housing policy goals. The tenants' initiatives represented in the rents referendum founded a new initiative in 2018 to bring about a referendum according to which Deutsche Wohnen and other profit-oriented, oversized housing companies in Berlin are to be expropriated in accordance with Article 15 of the Basic Law and their housing stocks socialized.

Berlin Housing Supply Act

Through the law on the realignment of social housing supply in Berlin (Berlin Housing Supply Act - WoVG Bln) , which was announced as a compromise by the responsible Senate Administration, various laws were enacted or changed as an article law , which include the following core contents:

• Rents in the private and public social housing in Berlin by changing the Housing Act Berlin capped at a maximum of 30% of net income. The availability of social housing is retained even if the owner repays the subsidy.
• The law on the social orientation and strengthening of state-owned housing companies for a long-term secure housing supply (WUAusrStärkG BE) was passed, whereby democratically elected tenants' councils with co-determination rights were introduced for each state-owned housing company, each of which receives a seat on the supervisory board. It also includes a statutory supply mandate for households disadvantaged in the housing market, according to which:
  • When re-letting apartments, at least 55% must be rented to WBS authorized persons
  • one in five of these apartments has to be given to groups in need such as the homeless or refugees
  • Rent increases and rents are capped at 30% of net income in municipal housing stocks
  • a missing or negative credit report may no longer be the sole reason for a rejection in the apartment rental
  • Evictions in the state-owned housing companies should be avoided as far as possible
  • Social housing is purposefully purchased, especially in inner-city residential areas.
  • In order to fulfill this supply mandate, WBG's equity will be increased, land owned by the state will be transferred to the WBG. Any surpluses generated remain in the company. At least 30% of new apartments must be subsidized as social housing.
• Through the law establishing the "Housing Supply Berlin - Public Law Establishment" (WoVErG BE), the housing supply Berlin of the same name was founded, which, as a public law institution, serves to control the six state-owned housing companies. It should formulate political guidelines with a view to the housing market and supply mandate of the state-owned housing companies, and monitor the implementation of these guidelines.
• A revolving housing development fund was set up through the law on the establishment of the “Special Property Housing Fund Berlin” (SWoFFoErG BE), which promotes maintenance, modernization, new construction, purchase and purchase of occupancy restrictions.

Although the Compromise Act contains many of the initiative's essential requirements, it also differs in a number of points from the original Act of the Initiative. For example, the private-sector organization of the six housing associations will be retained, whereas the initiative had called for them to be converted into institutions under public law . In addition to the formation of tenants' councils, the formation of specialist advisory boards for the state-owned housing companies was called for, each of which would have had several seats on the administrative board of the institutions to the detriment of the Berlin Senate.

Initiators

Several Berlin tenant initiatives for the Mietvolksentscheid e. V. merged. The Alliance sees itself as non-partisan and is supported by a number of initiatives and individuals who are interested in the right to the city , a social housing provision and against gentrification involved, such as marx21 , the Interventionist Left or Kotti & Co . Support of the referendum rent received, among others, the Berlin tenant community and from Berlin tenants' association .

The Berlin rent referendum is divided into the plenum of the active meeting, various so-called Kiez groups as decentralized and local action points, the coordination group, several working groups and the rent referendum e. V. as a sponsoring association. Fundamental decisions such as the formulation of the draft law are made in plenary by all support initiatives and individuals. In the plenum, working groups are also formed on current topics, some of which work in consultation with the coordination group. The coordination group deals with issues such as strategic campaign planning and press work, prepares the meetings of the active plenary and occasionally implements the plenary decisions. Five confidants were elected as representatives and contacts for the referendum: Matthias Bernt ( INURA ), Melanie Dyck (GSW 23 and Kotti & Co), Jan Kuhnert , Olof Leps (Kotti & Co) and Max Manzey ( marx21 and Die Linke.SDS ) .

See also

• People's legislation in Berlin
• Social housing in Berlin
• Social housing

Web links

• Homepage of the Mietvolksentscheids e. V.

swell

• Article in the Berliner Zeitung of March 10, 2015, p. 14.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Law on the realignment of the social housing supply in Berlin (Berlin Housing Supply Act - WoVG Bln) of November 24, 2015 (Law and Ordinance Gazette for Berlin, 2015, vol. 71, no. 25, p. 422)
2. ↑ RBB: Berlin rent referendum has been canceled. Press release. RBB, June 18, 2015, accessed February 3, 2016 . 
3. ↑ https://www.dwenteignen.de/impressum/ and https://www.dwenteignen.de/2019/09/3-10-richtig-deckeln-dann-enteignen/
4. ↑ Thorsten Gabriel: The rent referendum is in the starting blocks. rbb online (Berlin) from March 7, 2015.
5. ^ Application to initiate a referendum on rent: 81.7 percent of the support signatures are valid. Press release. Senate Department for Home Affairs and Sport, June 18, 2015, accessed on June 18, 2015 . 
6. ↑ RBB: Berlin rent referendum has been canceled. Press release. RBB, June 18, 2015, accessed February 3, 2016 . 
7. ↑ The man who wants to expropriate Deutsche Wohnen. Retrieved March 27, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Press and current affairs Agreement with the Mietvolksentscheid initiative. Press release. Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment, September 18, 2015, accessed on September 20, 2015 . 
9. ↑ Jan Kuhnert, Olof Leps: New non-profit housing - Springer . P. 325 , doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-658-17570-2 ( springer.com [accessed February 27, 2017]).
10. ↑ Press and current affairs Agreement with the Mietvolksentscheid initiative. Press release. Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment, September 18, 2015, accessed on September 20, 2015 . 
11. ↑ Olof Leps: Living in Berlin is becoming more social . In: Tenant Forum . tape 2015 , no. IV . Dortmund 2015, p. 10 .
12. ↑ Olof Leps: Living in Berlin is becoming more social . In: Tenant Forum . tape 2015 , no. IV . Dortmund 2015, p. 10 .