#304: Updates from the housing crisis
Potsdam de-criminalises Schwarzfahren
Dear 20 Percent,
When I moved to Germany, Berlin let me swap my US driving license for a German one. No questions asked. No test. I just filled out a form and forfeited my New Mexico license.
The test to get that license, which I took at age 16, consisted of 20 easy multiple choice questions. For the practical part, I had to drive around the block.
Strangely, Berlin doesn’t allow drivers from states like California and New York, (places with more difficult tests and actual traffic), to transfer their license without taking the German test.
If you’re curious, check out Berlin’s arbitrary rules for licenses from non-EU countries. (German, pdf).
Meanwhile, people trying to get their license in Germany aren’t doing well. In Berlin, 49% failed the theory test last year, versus 42% Germany-wide; 37% failed the practical segment.
Good thing most people don’t need a car in Berlin. Thank you, €29 Ticket!
Some real news below.
Maurice
PS: Shout out to today’s sponsor, digital insurance insurance experts, Feather. Check ‘em out.
Housing crunch 1
The number of social housing units in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg will drop by 2,665 by the end of 2025, reports taz, meaning landlords will be able to raise rents. The city government provided the data in reponse to a parliamentary question by Linke politicians Niklas Schenker and Elif Eralp. These are flats whose renovation or construction were subsidised in exchange for a promise to keep rent under a certain level for a set period. This is know as Sozialbindung and about 10,000 apartments in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg are still covered by the scheme. In 2012, Berlin had 150,000 such social housing units; now we’re down to 90,000.
The city continues to build subsidised flats but not nearly enough — and urban development boss Christian Gaebler admitted last week that Berlin will miss its target of building 20,000 new flats (subsidised and non-subsidised) this year — by a long shot. The failure to fully digitise the construction permit process isn’t helping. Neukölln alone presides over 4.8km of paper files, according to Tagesspiegel Checkpoint.
Housing crunch 2
On a more local scale, CDU politician Lilia Usik is campaigning to get something done about the 66 empty apartments in the “Russenhäuser” in Karlshorst, reports Berlin Live. The buildings are owned by the Russian state and have been abandoned for 30 years. The buildings housed Russian officers from the end of the Second World War until 1994, when occupying troops finally withdrew from Germany. Usik wants to explore “whether the houses can be handed over to Ukraine as part of the sanctions against Russia, so that Ukraine hands them back to Germany or sells them”. State Secretary for Construction Alexander Slotty is skeptical: “The Senate does not currently see any legal options for bringing the houses onto the housing market without the involvement of the Russian Federation.”
Potsdam de-criminalises “Schwarzfahren”
In Potsdam, our leafy neighbour to the southwest, people riding public transport without a ticket will no longer face potential criminal charges, thanks to an initiative by Die Linke, according to taz. In Berlin people who fail to pay fines for Schwarzfahren can end up in prison. Currently, 282 people (often homeless, or simply poor) are serving sentences, costing the taxpayer €230 per day each. The CDU-SPD coalition has no plans to follow in Potsdam’s footsteps. Jail-time for not buying a ticket — it’s one of those absurd injustices in Germany that’s under most people’s radar. If you want to read more on the subject, the Freiheitsfonds, a non-profit that raises money to pay prisoners’ fines and get them out of prison, has information in English.
Events this week, curated by The Next Day Berlin:
🎤Marcelo D2
Friday, 02.08. Doors: 7 pm. Festsaal Kreuzberg, Am Flutgraben 2, 12435 Berlin. Tickets: €30
One of our favorite Brazilian hip-hop artists, 🎧 Marcelo D2, brings his latest IBORU Euro tour.
🪩Acid Arab (DJ Set) & Guests
Saturday, 03.08, 11:30 pm - 6 am. Gretchen, Obentrautstr.19-21; 10963 Kreuzberg. Tickets: €22.60
🎧 Acid Arab mixes Western electronic music with Eastern sounds like Algerian gasba and Anatolian trance, breaking genre boundaries. They make us dance our socks off.
🖼️Caspar David Friedrich: Infinite Landscapes (Last chance to see)
Until 04.08. Daly 9 am - 9 pm. Alte Nationalgalerie, Bodestrasse 1-3, Free entrance (Museum Sunday).
A key theme in “Caspar David Friedrich. Infinite Landscapes” is the Nationalgalerie's role in rediscovering Friedrich's art in the early 20th century. This comprehensive exhibition is long overdue in Berlin, home to one of the largest collections of Friedrich’s paintings. Numerous acquisitions and presentations in the Prussian capital contributed to his early fame.
Germany-wide news
⏳ Immigrants struggle with citizenship bureaucracy
😑 Far-right magazine appeals ban
☀️ Solar power booming in Germany
🏰 Schwerin Castle named UNESCO Heritage site
Factoid
Ever wonder why the Adeles and Taylor Swifts of this world never perform in Berlin? It’s simple: our venues are too small, according to RBB. The Olympic Stadium is the only location with the required 70,000+ capacity, but that’s usually booked out for football or else concerts there could sonically collide with smaller shows at nearby Waldbühne. Tempelhof Airport occasionally hosts festivals and concerts, but the proximity of temporary housing for refugees on the tarmac complicates matters. Sometimes it’s about how much you want it: Munich just built a 75,000-capacity arena for Adele.
That’s all for now, but please visit our sponsor!💶
Let's talk about pension and retirement in Germany
In 2023 alone, over 950,000 people started receiving pensions, while only 693,000 children were born. This trend threatens the sustainability of the public pension system in the coming decades (aka the pension that is automatically deducted from your payslip).
Even the German government recommends topping the statutory insurance up with a private plan.
Feather's private flexible pension insurance is designed specifically with expats in mind:
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Congrats on the big milestone, Maurice and Andrew! What a pleasure to be a part of the journey.
I've never found a clear answer as to why each U.S. state has a separate agreement with each German state. My understanding is that a California license can be exchanged in Brandenburg, but not Berlin (if one lives in Brandenburg, of course). It doesn't make much sense and I've often wondered if it's due to some sort of data sharing rules... perhaps California won't give Berlin as much detail as they require for an exchange? Regardless, it's pretty ridiculous to have a system like this - I'm of the firm belief that *everyone* should have to pass some sort of driving test when living in a new country to prove they understand the idiosyncrasies of each country's rules and regulations. But it shouldn't be based on where you came from and starting from scratch. I guarantee spending several years braving Los Angeles traffic is better preparation than someone who lived in suburban Arizona their entire life.