Berlin ruling: 215 luxury flats in Europacity must become social housing
The administrative court sides fully with the state of Berlin: the owners are to pay around 1.84 million euros, and the judge speaks of "ruthlessness".
Symbolic image · Photo: NutzerAusBerlin / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped and resized)
Berlin's Administrative Court ruled on Friday that 215 high-priced furnished apartments in the Europacity district north of the main railway station must be let as social housing with rent and occupancy restrictions. The court fully upheld the State of Berlin's lawsuit against the former and current owners, Quartier Heidestraße GmbH and QH2 Development GmbH und Co. KG (case VG 8 K 19/25), Tagesspiegel reported. The flats, covering a total of 9,693 square metres, were completed in August 2023.
The obligation stems from a 2016 urban development contract, but it was not entered in the land register and was not passed on to the new owner when the plot was transferred in 2021. The court classed this as "deliberate harm contrary to public policy". "This action is immoral," the presiding judge said. "It reveals a high degree of ruthlessness towards the plaintiff." Both companies are to pay the state around 1.84 million euros plus interest jointly, and, until the restriction ends on 31 July 2043, five euros per square metre per month – around 48,465 euros a month – unless the flats are let as social housing.
Building Senator Christian Gaebler (SPD) said: "The ruling is a very important signal to all project developers." The decision is not yet final: the court did not allow an appeal, but the owners can apply for leave to appeal at the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg.