How we arrived at our demands.
Life in Berlin is getting harder – rents are rising, public transport is becoming more expensive, and the school system segregates children early on by background. At the same time, people everywhere are campaigning for a different city. These struggles must come together.
Our demands were not drawn up at a desk. They come from ongoing grassroots activism in Berlin – from initiatives that have been fighting for years for affordable housing, the right to registration, better schools and fairer mobility.
We have pooled these concerns and compared them with a representative survey: what is really close to Berliners' hearts? From this, we have formulated five demands.
We deliberately didn’t want a long catalogue of demands. Five demands, not fifty. Every single one meets two criteria: it is realisable at the Berlin state level, and it has societal majorities – even beyond the usual progressive milieus. They are not a recipe for everything. But if they are implemented, life for many people in Berlin will become simpler, fairer, and better.
That is what we demand.
01 Punish rent gouging! Consistently combat misuse through vacancies, holiday apartments and furnished living
Every glance at a property portal shows us: most of the flats offered to us Berliners are unaffordable. They are illegal because they are above the rent index. Many are even so high that they constitute extortionate rent and are therefore punishable by law.
At the same time, we can find many of the apartments on holiday rental portals in which we could actually be living as tenants. That is also prohibited.
Although this happens in plain sight, Berlin hardly takes any action against these violations of the law. This state inaction regarding criminal landlords is at all our expense.
Therefore, we demand: Priority for the enforcement of laws in the interests of tenants. The Senate must support the districts in putting an end to mass violations of the law. We demand a crisis unit against arbitrary landlord practices that consistently prosecutes breaches of the law.
02 Whoever lives in Berlin belongs to Berlin! Everyone must be able to register, take part and participate politically
In Berlin, people are now paying money just to have their name on a doorbell. That is a scandal. What sounds like a bureaucratic problem means exclusion, dependency and existential uncertainty in everyday life for many people and their families. Without registration, it is impossible to open a bank account, take a job or apply for benefits such as child benefit, housing benefit or student financial aid.
This is exacerbated by the Berlin housing crisis. An overheated housing market long ago ceased to determine only who can live where, but also who can practically exercise their rights and who cannot.
Particularly affected are homeless and unhoused people, people in precarious living conditions, those with low incomes, students, single parents, refugees, migrants and people without a secure residence status.
Registration is more than just an administrative act. A democratic city must not tie belonging and participation to a tenancy agreement, passport or wealth. Whoever lives in Berlin must be able to exercise their rights, have a say and take part in the political life of this city – and that includes local voting rights for all. Especially in times of right-wing extremism, social hardship and societal division, Berlin must lead the way as a progressive city and offer a practice of solidarity in opposition to the federal government's restrictive course.
Therefore, we demand: All people who live in Berlin must be given the opportunity to officially register in Berlin. To this end, a Berlin city card is needed that practically recognises this sense of belonging and secures it in everyday life.
03 Make public transport affordable Make corporations pay, introduce the 9-euro ticket
Everyone in Berlin must have the opportunity to get from A to B in their everyday lives. That must not be a question of one's budget. Because mobility is an essential prerequisite for participation and the exercise of fundamental rights. Especially in a big city like Berlin, this is relevant to the daily lives of hundreds of thousands.
The 9-euro ticket showed that affordable mobility is possible for everyone. Especially for people with little money, it made getting around noticeably easier. Despite this, it was scrapped again. Since then, ticket prices have only known one direction: upwards.
So far, passengers in particular are paying the high ticket prices. Corporations are not contributing fairly to the financing of local public transport. Yet they benefit directly from it: customers get to their shops, and employees reach their workplace. That is why corporations must also contribute to the financing of public transport.
Therefore, we demand: A fair funding model for public transport in Berlin so that a €9 ticket can be introduced. Corporations that benefit from local public transport must also contribute to its financing. In the long term, the goal remains fare-free public transport. Berlin must also campaign at federal level for the reintroduction of the €9 ticket.
04 Opportunities instead of exclusion comprehensive school up to year 10/13 as a mainstream school
The current school system means stress for parents and children. It is socially unjust. Even before they get a real chance to develop their skills and interests, children are divided into different types of schools. The pressure on grammar schools is high. This increases the barriers to entry and children sometimes have to put up with long journeys across the city. This drives the social division of Berlin.
In hardly any other country in the world are children separated into different types of school at such an early age. There is still a social mix in Berlin's districts. This must also be reflected in the schools.
Therefore, we demand: Comprehensive school as a mainstream school. All children should be taught together until year 10. All schools must offer an integrated upper school.
05 Implement the referendum „Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co – the will of 1 million Berliners
A Vonovia tenant pays an average of 166 euros of their rent every month to the group's shareholders. While many of us no longer know how to pay the next bill, the housing corporations are making massive profits.
Berliners are in agreement: housing should no longer be speculated with. That is why, in 2021, over 1 million Berliners voted for the referendum on the socialisation of large, profit-oriented housing corporations. Furthermore, an expert commission of the Senate has concluded that socialisation is both feasible and affordable.
Nevertheless, the current coalition of the CDU and SPD is refusing to implement the clear will of Berliners. That is a democratic scandal and ensures that our rents continue to end up in the pockets of the shareholders of Vonovia, Heimstaden and co.
Therefore, we demand: Corporations must not make a profit from our basic need for housing. The will of over 1 million Berliners must no longer be ignored. The „Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co“ referendum must be implemented.
Frequently asked questions.
Detailed answers to each of our five demands. Click on a topic to view the questions.
01 Punish rent gouging
What is the problem?
In Berlin, apartments are frequently used for unauthorised purposes despite existing laws, such as for holiday lets or being left vacant. Excessive rents, furnished accommodation, fixed-term contracts and feigned personal use are also inadequately prosecuted.
Are there no laws against that?
No. The central problem is the lack of enforcement. There is a shortage of staff, uniform procedures, digital tools and sufficient resources to consistently prosecute violations.
How large is the enforcement deficit?
According to the State Audit Office, out of an estimated 38,000 illegal holiday apartments, only 2,321 were identified between 2018 and 2022. Only 336 apartments were actually reclaimed. In cases of rent gouging, there were 3,256 proceedings, but only four penalty notices.
What are the specific requirements?
A city-wide crisis management team with at least 100 positions dedicated exclusively to the enforcement of existing law.
What is the task force supposed to do?
She should:
- Support districts in difficult cases
- Standardise procedures across Berlin
- use digital tools
- pool legal knowledge
- to receive a cost-of-litigation budget
- exhaust all legal options in the event of systematic violations.
Which offences should be prosecuted?
In particular:
- illegal holiday apartments and empty properties
- abusive furnished residential tenancy and fixed-term contracts
- Rent gouging and excessive rent
Can Berlin implement that itself?
Yes. The enforcement of the ban on unlawful alienation and the corresponding regulatory provisions lies at the state or district level. A crisis team can also be established by a Senate resolution and corresponding budgetary funds.
What is the point of consistent enforcement?
Flats could be returned to the regular housing market more quickly without the need for new construction first. At the same time, the risk increases for landlords who systematically violate applicable law. In the medium term, the offices could even finance themselves, at least in part, through administrative fines and financial penalties.
Why is new construction alone not enough?
New construction is important, but has a long-term effect. And only if it focuses on affordable rents. Through consistent enforcement, existing flats can be made immediately available again for regular living.
What is the overarching aim?
Existing laws should not only exist on paper, but be effectively enforced. This is intended to protect housing, better protect tenants from exploitation and strengthen trust in the rule of law.
02 Whoever lives in Berlin belongs to Berlin
What is the problem?
Many people living in Berlin are unable to register formally. This affects, among others, homeless people, those in precarious housing conditions, refugees, migrants and people without a secure residence status. Without registration, access to many everyday services and provisions is significantly hindered.
Why is registration so important?
A missing registration can trigger a whole chain of problems: difficulties with bank accounts, work, social benefits, housing, education, healthcare and many everyday services.
What are the specific requirements?
Berlin should give all people who live here a practical way to have their belonging to the city recognised. Central to this are:
- a Berlin city map
- a health card for people without regular health insurance coverage
- an independent clearing and advisory centre
- better information and training for authorities.
What is the Berlin city map?
The city map is to be available free of charge to all Berliners aged six and over – regardless of their residence status. For example, it contains name, date of birth, photograph and a postal contact address, but no residence status.
It is neither an identity card nor a residence permit. Its main purpose is to facilitate access to municipal services and administrative procedures.
What are the concrete benefits of the city pass?
Among other things, it could make registering children for schools and day nurseries easier and enable access to libraries, adult education centres, emergency shelters, women's refuges and other services. At the same time, it can strengthen a sense of belonging and participation.
Does the city map legalise the stay?
No. The city card does not create a new residence status and does not protect against residency enforcement measures. It merely improves access to existing rights and municipal services.
Why do we need a health card?
People without regular health insurance coverage frequently have to receive medical care via a complex parallel system today. An electronic health card could enable direct access to doctors while simultaneously reducing administrative costs.
According to a model calculation produced by Kron et al., such a card could save Berlin at least 278,000 euros per year compared to the previous system. https://www.eh-berlin.de/meldungen/detail/berlin-city-card-gutachten-zeigt-chancen-und-grenzen-einer-stadtkarte-fuer-mehr-teilhabe
What is a clearing house?
An independent, central advisory centre should support people in social distress with questions regarding health, housing, education, residency and further problems. It could also assist with the issuing of the city pass.
Why do not only people without a residence status benefit?
The city map should be open to all Berlin residents. This prevents people from being stigmatised on the basis of their residence status or becoming identifiable as a special group. At the same time, the map can simplify practical administrative procedures for many people.
Can Berlin introduce the city map itself?
Yes. According to the expert opinion by Kron et al., Berlin can introduce such a city identity card on the basis of its own state competences via legislation. It neither replaces the identity card nor a residence permit and does not interfere with federal residence law.
Can Berlin introduce local voting rights for all residents?
No, not alone. According to the legal situation presented in the text, Berlin cannot independently introduce municipal voting rights for non-EU nationals. This would require an amendment to the Basic Law. The city map is legally independent of this.
Are there any examples of such a city map?
Yes. Comparable municipal models exist in New York, Paris, Barcelona, Zurich and Bern, among others. They show that cities can develop their own instruments to strengthen the social and practical participation of their residents.
What is the long-term vision?
Berlin is intended to be a city of solidarity, where actual belonging to urban life does not depend solely on residence status. The concept is known as urban citizenship: whoever lives in Berlin should have access to basic urban services, rights and social participation.
03 Make public transport affordable
Why does public transport need to become cheaper?
Mobility is a prerequisite for social participation. Anyone who cannot afford buses and trains has poorer access to employment, education, culture and healthcare. The 9-euro ticket showed how eagerly affordable public transport is accepted.
What are the specific requirements?
Berlin should broaden the funding of public transport and involve companies more in the costs. The aim is to make tickets cheaper. Berlin must take a first step towards returning to the €9 ticket. In the long term, public transport is to be largely financed by taxes and levies and eventually become ticket-free.
Why should companies pay for public transport?
Businesses benefit directly from a functioning local transport system: employees get to work, customers can reach shops and the economic hub remains accessible. Therefore, the costs should not be borne primarily by the passengers.
How could a corporate levy work?
The French *versement mobilité* serves as a model. Under this scheme, companies contribute to the funding of local public transport through a levy on their payroll. Those with more employees contribute correspondingly more.
Won't cheaper tickets make public transport even more crowded?
That can happen if only prices are reduced. Therefore, ticket discounts and expansion must be considered together. Additional revenue should also flow into more staff, vehicles, more frequent services, accessibility and infrastructure.
Can Berlin introduce a €9 ticket itself?
Berlin cannot decide on a nationwide uniform 9-euro ticket on its own. However, Berlin can make its own discounted tickets possible at the state level and work together with other states for a nationwide solution.
What happens to the additional revenue?
They are not just to be used for cheaper tickets. Priority is also given to:
- more buses and trains
- tighter bars
- more staff
- new vehicles
- Accessibility
- Expansion and modernisation of the infrastructure.
Are there any international models for this?
Yes. France funds a significant part of local public transport through employer levies. Luxembourg has made public transport free nationwide. Vienna relies on heavily subsidised annual passes and a high usage of public transport.
What are the benefits of cheap public transport in Berlin?
Affordable mobility reduces transport poverty and enhances social inclusion. An attractive public transport system can also help to reduce car traffic and land consumption, lower emissions and improve the quality of urban life.
What is the long-term goal?
Mobility should be a fundamental component of public services – not dependent on the size of one's wallet. The path leads via significantly cheaper public transport to a largely tax- and levy-financed local transport system that is fare-free in the long term.
04 Opportunities instead of exclusion
What is the problem with today's school system?
In Berlin, children are already sorted into different types of secondary school after year 6. This creates a high level of pressure regarding grades as early as year 5. For many families, choosing a secondary school becomes a stressful competition for good grades and school places.
The transition to Year 6 causes considerable stress for many children and families. When children learn together for longer, the early decision between different types of school is eliminated. This can reduce the pressure of competition and grades.
What are the specific requirements?
The comprehensive school is to become a standard school. Children should be able to learn together at least until year 10, and ideally until year 13. In the long term, all schools should offer an integrated upper school.
Why should children learn together for longer?
In Germany, educational success depends heavily on social background. Comprehensive schools can help to reduce this correlation. At the same time, children with different social and personal backgrounds learn together and benefit from a stronger social cohesion.
Doesn't that hold back high-achieving pupils?
No. Inclusive learning does not mean that all children have to learn the same thing. Different levels of achievement and interests can be accommodated within a school through individual support, varied learning opportunities and appropriate learning levels.
What about children who need special support?
Particularly in a comprehensive school, individual support can be more strongly integrated into everyday school life. The aim is to support pupils according to their abilities without streaming them permanently into different types of school at an early stage.
Are there already community schools in Berlin?
Yes. Berlin already has around 25 comprehensive schools. They show that longer shared learning works in Berlin. In 2025, two Berlin comprehensive schools were also awarded the German School Prize.
Why are the existing community schools not sufficient?
Out of a total of around 669 public general-education schools, community schools still make up only a small part of the Berlin school system. Scarcely any new ones have been added in recent years. In order for longer shared learning to have a broader impact, significantly more community schools are needed.
Are there any international role models?
Yes. Countries like Finland and Canada rely more heavily on longer periods of shared schooling and sometimes perform better in international educational studies than Germany. However, these models cannot be applied directly to Berlin.
How are more comprehensive schools supposed to be established?
Primarily through two means: new school buildings that Berlin has to build anyway due to a shortage of school places are to be preferentially planned as comprehensive schools. In addition, existing primary schools and secondary schools can be merged into comprehensive schools.
Why aren't existing schools simply merged?
For schools, merging can currently have financial disadvantages because funding and allocations may be lost. Therefore, incentives are needed instead of disadvantages: schools that merge to form a community school should be supported accordingly in terms of staffing, budget and equipment.
Can Berlin decide that for itself?
Yes. Education policy falls largely within the competence of the federal states. Berlin can therefore change the framework conditions for community schools, plan new schools accordingly, and adjust the funding and provision of resources for school mergers.
What specifically does Berlin need to change?
Comprehensive schools should be recognised as an independent school type. In addition, allocation guidelines, school budgets and criteria for school categorisation should be adjusted so that mergers into comprehensive schools become financially and organisationally attractive.
What is the long-term vision?
A school where children are not separated early according to school type and supposed ability. More shared learning is intended to distribute opportunities more fairly, reduce school stress and strengthen social inclusion.
05 Implement the referendum
What is it about?
On 26 September 2021, 59.1 percent of Berliners – more than 1 million people – voted in favour of the socialisation of large, profit-driven corporate landlords. The „Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co.“ referendum thus achieved a clear majority.
Large, profit-driven housing companies with more than 3,000 apartments in Berlin would be affected. These include Vonovia/Deutsche Wohnen, Heimstaden and Adler, among others. In total, this involves around 240,000 apartments.
Why should large housing corporations be socialised?
Housing is a basic need and not an ordinary commodity. When apartments are owned by profit-oriented corporations, a portion of the rent flows to shareholders and other capital providers. Socialisation is intended to permanently remove housing from speculation and gear it towards the common good.
Is socialisation even legally possible?
Yes. An expert commission appointed by the Berlin Senate concluded in 2023 that the socialisation of large housing companies under Article 15 of the Basic Law is fundamentally constitutional and financially viable.
What does „socialisation“ mean?
The flats would not simply be placed under state control. They are to be transferred into a public-law institution geared towards the common good. This would be democratically controlled and not aimed at generating profits for private owners.
Will the companies be expropriated without compensation?
No. The companies affected are to be compensated. However, it is possible to determine the compensation in a way that is oriented towards the public good and below a speculative market value. The socialisation commission has considered such a design to be fundamentally possible.
Who pays the compensation?
The concrete financing is regulated by the socialisation law. In the event of compensation below current speculative prices, it is possible that the compensation will be financed from ongoing rents. This means that the money that previously flowed into the pockets of the shareholders will flow into financing the compensation. This means that the Berlin state budget will not be burdened by the compensation.
What is happening to the rents?
The flats are to be managed on a permanently socially responsible basis and removed from speculation. The aim is long-term rent stability rather than a focus on maximum returns.
Will this cause all rents in Berlin to fall?
Socialisation wouldn't automatically make every Berlin flat cheaper. However, it would permanently remove a very large stock of flats from profit maximisation and thereby create an important public-welfare-oriented rental sector. This would also stabilise the rest of the market, because these more stable rents are also factored into the rent index.
Why not just build more social housing?
New construction remains important, but is not enough on its own. Socialisation could permanently transfer around 240,000 already existing apartments into public-interest management. This would quickly create a large stock without having to wait for decades of new construction.
Is that democratically legitimised?
Yes. Over a million Berliners voted for socialisation in 2021. The demand is therefore democratically legitimised by a successful referendum. The implementation of this vote is therefore also a question of trust in direct democracy.
Why has the referendum not been implemented yet?
Because the current Berlin CDU/SPD coalition is boycotting the implementation of the resolution. This is despite the fact that several SPD party conferences have demanded the implementation of the referendum.
Can Berlin decide on socialisation itself?
According to the assessment of the socialisation commission appointed by the Berlin Senate, yes. Article 15 of the Basic Law provides the constitutional basis. Berlin can pass a corresponding state law and regulate the specific form of the public-welfare-oriented management.
What is the long-term goal?
Berlin should build up a large, permanently public-interest-oriented housing stock. Housing should not primarily serve as investment objects, but rather enable affordable and secure living.
Do you share our demands?
Then become part of BerlinZusammen. Together we will enforce them.
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