The Berlin Senate’s housing policy, which is heavily focused on the interests of tenants, contradicts the guiding principles of the state constitution. This is the conclusion reached in a legal opinion from Prof. Dr. jur. Steffen Hindelang of the Free University of Berlin, commissioned by the Association for the Promotion of Homeownership in Berlin (source: www.verein-wohneigentum.de). Hindelang examined Article 28(1) of the Berlin Constitution (VvB), which states: “Every person has the right to adequate housing. The state promotes the creation and preservation of adequate housing, particularly for people with low incomes, as well as the acquisition of home ownership.”
Berlin Hinders Homeownership
The explicit mention of home ownership is a distinctive feature of the Berlin State Constitution. According to the expert opinion, the promotion of home ownership in Berlin is on an equal footing with the promotion of affordable housing. “From the perspective of Berlin’s constitutional framers, housing policy that disregards the promotion of home ownership is too simplistic,” the expert opinion states. For the legislature, this means that it must incorporate the promotion of home ownership into its policy decisions regarding housing. With regard to the Berlin Senate’s policies, expert Hindelang concludes that, while the state government is not currently violating the constitution, “the Senate and the House of Representatives are no longer operating within the framework of the constitution.” The Association for the Promotion of Homeownership, which commissioned the expert opinion, takes the view that Berlin’s red-red-green Senate is disregarding its own constitution. During the presentation of the expert opinion, the association’s chairman, Jacopo Mingazzini, cited several political measures and policy decisions from recent years through which Berlin’s policymakers have not only failed to promote homeownership but have actually prevented it. For example, the Ordinance Prohibiting Conversion and the increasing designation of “environmental protection zones” have led to an ever-greater shortage of affordable housing in the existing stock. As a result, it is virtually impossible for private households to purchase affordable housing. Added to this is Berlin’s real estate transfer tax rate, which has been raised several times over the past ten years, now stands at six percent, and significantly increases the ancillary purchase costs for private buyers.
State Government Must Focus on Homebuyers
In a lengthy article on Professor Hindelang’s report, the *Tagesspiegel* also concludes that there are hardly any examples of home ownership support in Berlin (Source: www.tagesspiegel.de). An inquiry to the Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) revealed that in 2016, only 64 subsidy agreements were signed in Berlin—a city with a population of over a million—for the construction, renovation, or modernization of owner-occupied homes.In light of these low subsidy figures, the Association for the Promotion of Homeownership is calling on the state government to expand its policies to address the needs of potential homebuyers. And expert Hindelang also concludes in an interview with the *Tagesspiegel*: “It is unacceptable for the state to put off promoting homeownership indefinitely.”
