In the Berlin state election held on September 20, Die Linke led the count with roughly 25 percent of the vote. The established larger parties lost ground clearly.

The party campaigned on affordable rent, calling for a freeze on public-housing rents, expanded public supply and the socialization of housing held by private real-estate companies owning more than 3,000 units in the city.

Concretely, it pledged to take 220,000 apartments from corporate landlords. Estimates of the cost range from 7 billion to 36 billion euros, with the party proposing gradual recovery through the rental income the city would receive.

The idea traces to a 2021 Berlin referendum in which 57.6 percent of voters backed socializing the holdings of large property firms. It has not been translated into law. Die Linke says it will legislate the referendum result if it joins the next government.

Winning a Vote Is Not Forming a Government

German state parliaments are elected largely by proportional representation, so the largest party does not automatically form the city government. It must find coalition partners for a majority, and core pledges are frequently adjusted in the process.

The scale of the expropriation and the width of the cost estimates are further variables. The Basic Law provides for expropriation with compensation in the public interest, but observers note the level of compensation could be litigated for years.

A Question Cities Share

Rising rent is not Berlin's problem alone. Seoul and Taipei, Tokyo and New York are all arguing over how far housing costs can climb against incomes. The proposed answers differ; the departure of younger residents from city centers does not.

On the same day, the South Korean government announced measures to widen public rental units and admit middle-income households. Expand supply, or reach into the ownership of existing stock: two cities chose different answers to the same question.