© dpa
The potential partners of the alliance for new housing construction and affordable housing planned by the Berlin Senate are coming together for a first meeting today.
The participants include Berlin's Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD), several senators, representatives of the districts and from associations as well as representatives from private, municipal and cooperative housing companies. The declared goal of the Senate is to work out a binding agreement between all parties by the summer. They are to agree on how to build new housing fastee and at the same time protect tenants from excessive rent increases.
To take pressure off the tight housing market, the Senate wants to build 20,000 new apartments per year. Since municipal companies cannot handle this alone, private companies must also play their part. The Senate wants to ensure that this happens, for example by speeding up approval procedures and reducing bureaucracy. At the same time, the Senate hopes for a voluntary rent moratorium on the part of the partners for several years, during which existing rents may only increase in line with the rate of inflation at most. Berlin's Senator for Urban Development, Building and Housing, Andreas Geisel (SPD), wishes for a term of at least five years.