Politicians in Berlin hijacked three residential buildings in front of the nose in Tollefsen – E24

Heimstaden, owned by Ivar Tollefsen, broke out in Berlin this week. On Tuesday, local authorities in two different districts decided to exercise a right of first refusal that the public sector has in some protected areas.

In this way, local politicians managed to prevent the Swedish-registered company Heimstaden Bostad from taking over three residential buildings in the German capital.

– We must use all the tools we have to ensure affordable housing. This is the only way we can ensure that middle-income people can afford to live in central areas, says Florian Schmidt, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Councilor for Construction and Civil Engineering.

The green politician has been among the most receptive supporters of Heimstaden’s critical actions, delivering a speech in early October during a street demonstration targeting the real estate giant.

Send a warning to Heimstaden

It is the politicians of the Greens and of the Left (Die Linke) who have now stepped on the Norwegian real estate billionaire Ivar Tollefsen.

Wenke Christoph, Secretary of State for Housing in the Berlin Senate, supports the decision of the politicians of the districts of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Neukölln.

– We will continue to work for schemes that protect tenants, including agreements that prevent rental apartments from becoming condominiums. Heimstaden should notice this power of action and react with a greater willingness to cooperate, he says in a message.

Heimstaden could have prevented the expropriation of the properties with the right of first refusal if it had committed to certain social housing restrictions. The most important of these is a clause that refuses the owner to convert rental apartments into condos.

However, Heimstaden did not want to sign such agreements. This contributed to critical voices never being able to trust that the acquisition of the housing giant will not affect tenants, even though Heimstaden has stated that they do not plan a quick resale or other major changes.

– Heimstaden says they are long-term and they want to be a sensible homeowner. But if they really are that friendly, why not sign the agreement? Jochen Biedermann rhetorically asks the left-wing newspaper Taz.

The green politician is the head of the urban development department in Neukölln.

One billion euros in German apartments

Berlin was once known for its low rents, but in the last decade prices have more than doubled. To halt development, Berlin introduced a price cap in February this year. For the next five years, rental prices will be frozen at the June 2019 level.

However, Ivar Tollefsen has decided to enter the German market with force. Until 2020, the real estate mogul has gone from having barely anything in Germany to having 5,500 apartments in Berlin in his portfolio.

The hometown has already spent around a billion euros in the German capital divided into various deals.

The latter is the most complete. In what will probably be the biggest deal on the German property market this year, Heimstaden Bostad has put 830 million euros on the table for some 3,900 apartments on 130 properties.

The question is what it means to this giant deal that local authorities have swindled Heimstaden out of three of the properties.

If the Berlin politicians want to exercise the right of first refusal on various properties, they have two months from the conclusion of the agreement. Green politician Jochen Biedermann is clear that he wants to continue the fight against Heimstaden.

– We will fight for each of the other 27 houses in Neukölln that Heimstaden wants to buy, he tells Taz.

Believe that the perception of Berliners will change

Christian Dreyer, communications manager at Fredensborg and Heimstaden, says they would like to take over all three properties, but they see no disadvantage in the public sector having a right of first refusal in relation to a change in ownership.

– This is not a major intervention and a great opportunity for the public sector if you want to obtain housing in general or for special purposes, write in an email.

– How does the opposition live in Berlin?

– That local people are curious about who we are, I understand that well, our history in Berlin is relatively short. Let’s sum it up in a few years: I am surprised and a bit disappointed if the politicians in Berlin do not highlight us as a positive and particularly long-term homeowner.

– What does this mean for your plans in Berlin? Are you going to do something different in the future considering the deal that includes 3,900 apartments?

– We may sign statements along the way politicians want. We have a continuous dialogue with politicians and the administration in Berlin.

In Dreyer’s email, E24 did not find an answer to our question as to why Heimstaden did not sign such statements for the three residential buildings that have now been preempted, so we asked again.

– I mean I answered that. We have a good and continuous dialogue with politicians and the administration in Berlin to find a solution that is in the best interest of the tenants, us as a company and the city as a whole.

Total 290 residents

Berlin’s housing policy activists may have scored a small victory this week, but they are also aware that the battle is not over.

On Wednesday, an online meeting was organized for all the tenants of the 130 residential buildings who signed the giant agreement starting in September. 290 people participated.

– We, as initiators and activists, intend to build a large network made up of all the tenants of all the houses that Heimstaden has bought. In this way, we want to show that the people of Berlin stand together in solidarity against possible rent price jumps, evictions and gentrification, says Fabian Steinecke at the Initiative Forum Stadtpolitik Berlin, who helped organize the meeting.

Along with other similar groups, Steinecke is now planning more meetings in the future and then lobbying politicians in the respective districts.

– Only together can we stop Heimstaden! It is stated in a joint email that was sent to everyone who attended the online meeting.