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Berlin’s Rent Freeze Failure Puts Housing on Election Agenda

  • Germany’s top court said the city doesn’t have the authority
  • Berlin landlords surge after controversial move overturned
Apartments in front of the Berlin TV tower. 

Apartments in front of the Berlin TV tower. 

Photographer: Fabian Sommer/picture alliance/Getty Images

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The sticky issue of affordable housing moved up Germany’s political agenda after the country’s top court overturned Berlin’s controversial rent freeze.

The decision on Thursday by the Federal Constitutional Court to topple the aggressive clampdown on rents exposes thousands of voters to higher living expenses and highlights the housing squeeze in German cities.