Berlin’s Left Party vows to freeze rents and expand social housing by 2026

A migrant’s journey to political leadership could reshape Berlin’s housing crisis. Can her bold plans turn the tide on soaring rents and corporate landlords?

, and Administrator

2025 November 6 . 3:00 PM

1 min read

In this picture I can see there is a bus on to right and left and there are few buildings into... — In this picture I can see there is a bus on to right and left and there are few buildings into right and left. There are few poles with lights and there is a bridge on to left. The buildings have glass windows.

Elif Eralp, the nominated top candidate (Spitzenkandidatin) of the Berlin Left Party (Die Linke) for the 2026 election, sees the victory of a left-wing candidate in New York as a positive sign for Berlin’s left-wing movement. She plans to make each day better than the last, focusing on issues like freezing rents, affordable public transport, combating child poverty, and ensuring free childcare.

Eralp, who expects her own migration background to inspire and motivate Berliners with migration backgrounds, believes that Mamdani's personal background as the son of immigrants played a role in mobilizing migrant voters. She aims to expand municipal and social housing construction to make rents affordable and proposes to immediately impose a rent cap on the nearly 400,000 publicly owned apartments in Berlin.

She acknowledges that a blanket rent cap is not possible due to a Federal Constitutional Court ruling. Instead, she suggests socializing large landlords like Deutsche Wohnen and requiring every third apartment to be social housing. Eralp believes that breaking the upward spiral of rents is possible if Berlin stops aligning its policies with corporate interests.

Elif Eralp, the Berlin Left Party's top candidate for the 2026 election, aims to give people hope for a real change of direction and an affordable Berlin for everyone. She plans to focus on key issues such as rent control, affordable transport, and social welfare, drawing inspiration from her own migration background and the success of left-wing candidates elsewhere.