, Columnist
Berlin’s Rent Controls Are Proving to Be a Disaster
A year ago, the leftist government of Germany’s capital region imposed central planning on the city’s housing market. That was a bad move.
Berlin declares class war.
Photographer: Steffi Loos/Getty Images EuropeThis article is for subscribers only.
If populism on the political right corrupts democracies, populism on the left ruins economies. For the latest evidence take a closer look at the housing market of the German capital, Berlin.
A year ago, a rent cap took effect in the city that was unprecedented in Germany. For all apartments built before 2014, rents were frozen at whatever they were on Jun. 18, 2019. Tenants in those units can also force landlords to lower rents defined as “excessive.”