Berlin’s left-wing Linke, Green and SPD parties concluded exploratory talks on Saturday and agreed to begin formal coalition negotiations after reaching a housing-focused deal that includes the partial nationalization of large private landlords.
At a joint press conference in the House of Statistics near Alexanderplatz, the parties’ lead negotiators—Linke’s Elif Eralp, the Greens’ Werner Graf and the SPD’s Steffen Krach—unveiled a sondierung paper titled “Mehr Gemeinsam, mehr Berlin” and said they would table a law by mid-2028 to transfer into public ownership any portfolio above 10,000 units, subject to constitutional review and a one-year delay before implementation . The threshold would capture about 160,000 apartments—roughly 10 percent of Berlin’s stock—held by firms such as Vonovia, Heimstaden, Covivio, Alder and likely DVI, while sparing units built since 2021 and capping compensation at €16 billion without burdening the city budget .
Eralp, the Linke’s top candidate and prospective governing mayor, called the pact a step toward solving Berlin’s “rent crisis” and said the parties also agreed on an ambitious new-build program and a rent cap for city-owned housing . Krach, who had opposed nationalization during the campaign, termed the compromise “absolutely defensible” and stressed that new construction would remain welcome .
Before negotiations can start, each party must secure internal approval: the Greens will hold a mini-congress on Monday, the SPD’s state board will decide on the basis of the sondierung paper, and the Linke has scheduled a party conference for Oct. 31 due to Berlin’s autumn school break .
