Berlin’s rent freeze, hailed by some as a potential model for London, is already coming to an end after less than two years. In its final ruling this week, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court struck down the rent freeze as unconstitutional. In this sorry saga, there are plenty of lessons for those who supported rent freezes in our capital – not least London’s mayor Sadiq Khan.
The rent freeze was passed in June 2019, and took effect in February 2020. It froze nearly all rents across the city at their 2019-level, supposedly for a period of five years. It was hugely popular in Berlin, and attracted a lot of attention beyond. Rent controls were official Labour party and Green party policy in the 2019 General Election, and some specifically referenced the Berlin example. Sadiq Khan, for example, said last year:
‘We can learn from international precedents, such as those set by Paris, Berlin and New York, to design an effective system of rent control for London.
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