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Far-left party wins Berlin election, pledging to nationalise housing

72 points · 152 comments · theanonymousone

soonnow · 1789971698 · focus · HN ↗
To add a b it of context. They do not want to confiscate housing. They do want to pay landlords, though below current (very high) rates. Also this would only apply to private real-estate companies not individual owners.
And they can't govern alone, so I think it's unlikely that this plan is actually implemented as originally planned. The likely coalition would contain 3 parties.
1. fabian2k · 1789974179 · focus · HN ↗
  They are saying that this is what the want to do. They can't do that because it would be illegal.
  This is not just any law, it's in the German constitution (<a href="https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gg/art_14.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gg/art_14.html).
  1. 4gotunameagain · 1789975987 · focus · HN ↗
    The article you linked can be clearly interpreted in a way that would make it possible.
    fabian2k · 1789978584 · focus · HN ↗
    There is no way that paying below market value here would amount to a fair evaluation of the owner's interests.
    698969 · 1789982255 · focus · HN ↗
    If it definitely had to be market value, then the law probably would've been worded differently?
    It says the compensation is determined as a balance of public good and the interests of those affected, so to me it does read like the compensation can be lower than market value so it'd all come down the courts to determine how much below the market value the state can get away with.

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