Former Justice Minister and FDP politician Marco Buschmann has called upon the federal government to quickly introduce legislation prohibiting the socialization of housing. Speaking to the news portal “T-Online,” Buschmann asserted that the government should have already presented the long-promised law and remarked that if a small team of civil servants were prioritized to draft a legally sound law, it could be completed within months.
Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) had recently dampened expectations for a speedy law, stating that the project is not constitutionally “trivial.” Buschmann acknowledged that constitutional validity must be carefully reviewed, but he argued that the Basic Law explicitly grants the federal legislature the power to regulate the field of housing socialization. From his perspective, this power also includes the ability to forbid the socialization of residential property entirely.
Buschmann further condemned the socialization plans put forth by the Linke, Greens, and SPD in Berlin, deeming them unconstitutional. He criticized the plans primarily because the proposed compensation levels are too low. He stated that if compensation does not cover even half the market price, it does not meet the standards set by the Basic Law, adding that “common sense” is sufficient to understand this point.
Furthermore, he argued that these plans violate Article 3 of the Basic Law, which requires that similar circumstances be treated equally. Buschmann noted that while the Left, SPD, and Greens claim they merely wish to socialize existing large housing corporations, the definition constantly shifts. He points out that the plans are first framed as affecting companies with over 3,000 apartments, but then shift to discussing companies with over 10,000 units. Buschmann suggested that this shifting parameter strongly indicates a completely arbitrary boundary.
