Elif Eralp, the Turkish-origin premier candidate of the Left Party in the state elections to be held on September 20 in Berlin, the capital of Germany, announced her five-point plan which she promised to implement if elected. Among the priorities of the plan are limiting rent increases, intervening in the housing crisis, cleaning up the city, and providing a free bulky waste collection service.

Elif Eralp places social justice and affordable housing issues at the center of her election campaign. In this respect, the program, the plan, recalls the social policies of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

First on Eralp's plan are the rapidly rising rents in Berlin. The Left Party aims to limit rent increases and implement a “rent cap” in publicly owned housing in the city. It is thought that slower rent increases for approximately 400,000 public housing units in Berlin will also curb rent increases in the private housing market.

The Left Party had previously attempted to implement a rent cap across all of Berlin, but this initiative was overturned by the Federal Constitutional Court in 2021. The Court had stated that the federal government was authorized to regulate rents covering the entire housing market.

The Left Party had also previously brought up the nationalization of private housing companies. The transfer of housing from large companies like Vonovia and Deutsche Wohnen to public ownership is among the party's long-term goals. Stating that a comprehensive implementation would not be possible in a short time, Eralp said, “None of this will be done tomorrow, and changes will take time.”

In the Left Party's five-point program, the aim is to make Berlin a cheaper, cleaner, and more social city. The plan also envisages the establishment of a “Rent Profiteering Task Force” against rent gouging and offering citizens a free bulky waste collection day.

Baba Ajans/BERLIN