
Berlin's rental revolution: activists push for properties to be nationalised - pseudolus
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/apr/04/berlins-rental-revolution-activists-push-for-properties-to-be-nationalised
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erentz
At the moment it seems Berliners aren’t too keen on newcomers and instead of
ensuring cheap rents by ensuring there are enough units, they’re agitating and
regulating in a way that will ensure continued scarcity, and then to fix costs
they’re pushing ideas like rent control and nationalization. Which will in
effect result in a kind of rationing of units, so newcomers be damned.

It’s also remarkable given the history of nationalization and land reform to
which Berlin had a front row seat.

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raxxorrax
Definitely not helpful. Housing will only get more expensive, the only
solution is to build more.

Berlin still has comparative low rents for a city its size. On the other hand
real estate speculation remains a huge problem, even if new land is claimed.

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FreedomToCreate
A possibly better law that allows some free market aspects to continue is
allowing only those who work, attend school or have lived in the area X amount
of years with the ability to purchase or rent. This way people who need
housing in the area are prioritized over rent seekers who have no connection
to the area except for the fact that they have cash to purchase in the area.
This would also reduce commute times and overall shift around the city
population so everyone is closer to where they work or attend school.

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anoncake
* Allowing free market aspects does not make a law better.

* Virtually everyone who lives in Berlin also works there or attends school there. I cant imagine many people commute from Berlin to Brandenburg.

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njepa
If Berlin can figure out how to have long term affordable rents, for residents
and newcomers alike, similar to Singapore, Vienna or how Sweden used to be, it
will be the most successful city in Europe.

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pseudolus
If activists genuinely believe that Berlin can come up with expropriation
funds between €18.1bn (low end) and €36.6bn (high end) then their efforts
would probably be better directed towards obtaining those funds and directing
them towards building new housing and infrastructure as opposed to fomenting
populism.

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crushcrashcrush
This is what happens when greed takes over and people don’t put up with it. We
need the same revolution in the Bay Area.

If you’re aspiring to be a landlord: don’t. It’s not noble, it’s not useful,
and it’s quite literally rent seeking.

If you live in the bay and own, refuse to sell to faceless Chinese investors,
real estate trusts, etc. Sell to families and individuals who need to live.

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woah
This is a moronic statement. Housing shortages are not about “greed taking
over”, they are about not having enough housing.

Edit: sorry for being rude, but attitudes like yours make things worse because
they get people fired up about about useless actions that appeal to their base
emotions. For example, Berlin wants to spend 36 billion dollars changing the
ownership of some housing instead of spending 36 billion dollars building
enough for everyone. Landlords cannot charge high rents if there is enough
housing to go around.

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jim-jim-jim
Simply increasing supply only temporarily ameliorates the problem. Eliminating
landlords addresses a fundamental inefficiency in housing.

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deburo
This is wrong of course. Public housing does nothing to suppress the problem
of growing demand while having limited supply.

