Debate in Berlin: Left: Federal government will not get away with prohibition of expropriation

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and CSU General Secretary Martin Huber called for swift legislative action to curb the concentration of large private housing corporations. However, Linke leader Luigi Pantisano of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) argued that the federal government would not succeed. Linke plans to implement the 2021 "German Housing & Co" referendum in Berlin by nationalizing residential property holdings over 3,000 apartments per owner with compensation.

The CDU-SPD coalition in the federal government agreed in July to regulate the securitization of private rental property through land-level nationalization laws. CSU Secretary Huber accused the socialist plans of driving the housing market to ruin and causing tremendous costs, likening them to a "socialist exodus." Merz emphasized the need to send a clear message to international investors that there are no expropriations of private property in Germany.

Pantisano countered that the CDU is daily responsible for expropriating land for highways and that entailing expropriations would protect affordable housing. He argued that Merz's fear of Linke prompted him to make an exception for Berlin. Pantisano also stated that Linke's success in the upcoming Bundestag election and the result of the referendum would be a clear signal for expropriations.

He insisted that the democratic vote of Berliners should not be disregarded to protect Vonovia's stock prices. The construction and real estate industry warned of the consequences of the expropriation debate, with BFW President Dirk Salewski stating that investments are now going to Warsaw or other European metropolises instead of Berlin.

HDB CEO Tim-Oliver Müller criticized the idea of nationalization, emphasizing that it is not free and that apartments would be bought with funds that could otherwise be used for new construction, resulting in no new housing.