Enteignung als Lösung – oder das Ende von Rot-Rot-Grün?

The “capital of renters” is groaning under the weight of ever-rising rents. Berlin is now one of the most expensive cities in Germany —and yet there is still a lack of political solutions to curb this social crisis. Little has happened during the three years of the Black-Red coalition.

But in their election platforms, at least the center-left parties are now once again offering ideas: from boosting municipal housing construction to a new rent cap and housing market laws with social quotas for private landlords. Much of this could bring about real improvements quite quickly.

Meanwhile, the issue of socialization is in the public spotlight. The implementation of the referendum “Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co.” has been dragged out for years. But while The Left promises to finally carry out the plan, SPD lead candidate Steffen Krach opposes it, and a compromise seems hardly conceivable.

With just under a week to go before the Berlin election on September 20, we’re exploring the following questions: How can the SPD, The Left, and the Greens find common ground without ignoring the democratic mandate of Berliners? Is the expropriation issue leading Berlin into a political dead end from which, in the end, only the conservatives will benefit? And what would expropriation actually achieve?

In conversation:

🐾 Sebastian Schlüsselburg is a member of the House of Representatives, formerly with The Left, and with the SPD since 2025.

🐾 Katrin Schmidberger is a member of the House of Representatives and spokesperson on rent policy for the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group.

🐾 Rouzbeh Taheri is the lead candidate for The Left in Neukölln for the House of Representatives. He was a co-founder and spokesperson for the “Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co” initiative.