In her apartment in suburban Berlin, Regina Lehmann despairs at the letter from her landlord, a big real estate group: the rent is going up. 364,000 signaturesRent campaigners secured the referendum in Berlin after collecting 346,000 signatures in support of their proposition — well above the number needed. They are pushing to “expropriate” homes from real estate companies with more than 3,000 properties. Campaigners lay the blame at the door of major real estate groups, such as Adler, which owns 20,000 properties in Berlin. The social-democrat favourite in the local Berlin elections, Franziska Giffey, also declared her opposition to the proposal, saying it could “damage” the city’s reputation.

Source: The Local September 19, 2021 05:26 UTC