Grünen leader Franziska Brantner has rejected the federal government’s proposed “Investment Protection Act,” which is intended to complicate the socialization (or nationalization) of housing companies. Brantner told the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” that while the Basic Law does outline the possibility of socialization under Article 15 to counteract market excesses, she views any attempt to override a constitutional article with a simple law as legally highly questionable. Nevertheless, she acknowledged that the housing shortage is a real and pressing problem. In response, she stated that if the federal government genuinely wants to help renters, it should first strengthen the rent cap mechanism.
Simultaneously, Brantner distanced herself from the socialization plans proposed by the SPD, the Greens, and the Left Party in Berlin. She emphasized that the goal is to make affordable housing available quickly, especially given the financially strained state of local municipalities. She argued that all policies must be measured against budgetary reality, rather than an ideological framework. Instead, she offered alternative solutions: millions of square meters of unused office space in Berlin could be converted into residential units, and another viable approach would be to reduce construction costs.
Brantner added that land is a unique form of property that carries a special responsibility. This necessitates further legal steps, whether related to tightening the rent cap or determining appropriate dividend payouts for housing companies structured as stock corporations. She concluded by noting that both the SPD and the Greens in Berlin have already presented relevant obstacles in their policy exploratory papers regarding socialization.
