Rent Freeze #1: The Experiment

Radio Spaetkauf presents our new series - Rent Freeze. What happens when an entire city of 3.5 million residents stops paying rent increases for the next five years? Welcome to Rent Freeze, a podcast about Berlin’s rental revolution. Berlin is about to introduce the Mietendeckel, a law that will freeze rents for five years, cap new rental contracts at a maximum price, and allow some tenants to claim a rent reduction. Supporters say it will be the best thing to happen to the city since the fall of the Wall But investors and landlords are outraged. They say the reforms will scare off businesses, leave houses unbuilt and in disrepair, and feed a grey market for off-the-books rental as desperate Berliners try to find a flat. On this episode we explain the basics of the law, and talk to Daniel Halmer of Wenigermiete.de about why the existing rent controls haven't worked. Produced and presented by Joel Dullroy, Maisie Hitchcock, Jöran Mandik and Daniel Stern. Music by Tom Evans and Ducks! Art by Jim Avignon. Rent Freeze is a production of Radio Spaetkauf and RadioEins. More at www.radiospaetkauf.com

Om Podcasten

Season 1: "How To F#€k Up An Airport" What went wrong at BER? Berlin's unfinished airport has been in construction for over 11 years, cost have blown from €1 to €5.4 billion, and there's no end in sight. It's a story of incompetence, corruption and Berlin's general inability to get its act together. On this series, Radio Spaetkauf explains the BER disaster fail-by-fail. Season 3: "RSxEAB" Radio Spaetkauf pairs with the Europäische Akademie Berlin to explore a different and complex topic each episode, asking ourselves, our guest experts and our audience to imagine the city the city they want to live in. Season 2: "Rent Freeze" What would happen if an entire city, with millions of residents stops paying rent increases for five years? Radio Spaetkauf documents the rise and fall of Berlin's rent experiment; the "Mietendeckel".