Housing as Right or Commodity: ARTE Europe Weekly on Spain's Protests and Berlin's Expropriation Plan
ARTE.tv Documentary
This episode of ARTE Europe Weekly asks whether Europe's housing crisis now calls for radical change. The presenter calls housing "a deeply political issue." The episode points to two places where that is playing out. In Spain, mass protests over rents and evictions have pushed the prime minister to stake his political future on housing policy. In Berlin, a party that wants to take homes away from real estate investment groups has just won the regional election. Underneath both stories is one question: should housing make a profit for the people who own it, or serve the people who live in it?
The Scale of the Shortage
The presenter starts from supply. According to the figures cited, Europe needed 2.25 million homes in 2025 but built only 1.3 million, leaving a large shortfall. When supply is low and demand is high, prices and rents rise, and the presenter says they are rising faster than wages.
The show gives several numbers on rents. Between 2010 and 2024, rents rose in every EU country except Greece. Estonia saw the steepest increase, more than 200%, followed by Lithuania at 177%. Almost one in ten Europeans spends more than 40% of their income on housing.
Housing as an Asset Class
The presenter's explanation of what has changed is that housing has become an asset class the financial sector wants to hold. Real estate investment companies, insurers, hedge funds and pension funds now control a large share of Europe's housing market. In the presenter's words, power now lies with "those who make a profit from housing, not the people who actually live in it." This view frames both case studies that follow.
Spain: "We Are All Mari Carmen"
The Spanish story centers on Mari Carmen Abascal, an 87-year-old Madrid woman evicted from her flat on 23 September. A property developer had bought her building and raised her rent by 275%, far beyond what she could pay. "We are all Mari Carmen" became the rallying cry of tens of thousands of protesters in Madrid and across Spain.
After the protests broke out, the developer backed down and Abascal was able to move back home. The protests continued anyway, and Spain called its first general strike in 14 years for 11 November. The show presents her case as a symptom of a wider crisis in Spain:
- rents have soared relative to incomes,
- housing is hard to find,
- for many people, buying a home is simply impossible.
The Government's Measures and the Political Fallout
Spain's left-wing government announced several measures in response:
- a moratorium on evictions of vulnerable people until 2030,
- automatic renewal of tenancy agreements,
- stricter rules on holiday lets and short-term rentals,
- action against property speculators.
The report says the rules were only meant to last until 2028. Parliament still rejected them the previous week, which forced Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call a snap election. The government now hopes to pass the measures through an interim legislature. Spain's tenants' advocacy group welcomed the new law but called for further action. The transcript does not record what that further action would be.
The presenter then reports that Mari Carmen Abascal died while the episode was being prepared. Madrid's Tenants Union said her eviction marked a turning point in the country's history, and protesters vowed to keep fighting in her name.
Berlin: Decommodifying Housing
The second half covers what the presenter calls a radical idea: decommodifying housing. The argument is that large property companies and funds across Europe buy apartments and speculate with them to make as much profit as possible. Berlin is the show's prime example.
The show illustrates this with a 2006 deal. Deutsche Wohnen bought 60,000 flats from the city for 450 million euros, which works out to 7,500 euros per apartment. The presenter remarks that the company surely has not sold or rented them out at comparable rates.
Die Linke won Berlin's regional election in September with 25.7% of the vote. According to a German polling institute cited in the report, housing was the top issue for half of Berlin's voters. Rents in Berlin have risen faster than anywhere else in Germany, by nearly 70% since 2016, which has fueled demands for public ownership.
How the Plan Would Work
Under Die Linke's proposal, ownership of homes would move from private companies to the federal state of Berlin. A newly created non-profit, democratic public body would manage the properties and rent them out so that rents stay permanently low.
The plan targets publicly listed property companies that own more than 3,000 homes in Berlin. The largest is Vonovia, which together with its subsidiary Deutsche Wohnen owns 138,000 homes in the city. Berlin has about 1.7 million rental apartments, and the report says more than 200,000 could come into public ownership under the policy.
The report also notes an irony. In the 2000s, a coalition of two left-wing parties, the SPD and Die Linke itself, sold tens of thousands of homes to property companies to balance Berlin's budget.
The Cost and the Opposition
The central problem is compensation. If the plan goes ahead, Berlin would have to pay the property companies, and the city is still short of money. Experts cited in the report estimate the bill at anywhere from 8 to 36 billion euros. That uncertainty is one reason the idea is so controversial.
Critics argue that the city cannot afford it and that the money would be better spent building new housing. Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whom the presenter calls "deeply unpopular," wants to ban expropriation by law. Banks warn that corporate capital is leaving the city, and property investors are angry.
The legal question is also open. According to the report, German legal experts disagree on whether expropriation is lawful at all, and the housing companies are expected to fight it, possibly up to higher European courts. The presenter warns that a resolution could take years, and the housing crisis will continue in the meantime.
Two Competing Diagnoses
The episode closes by setting out the two sides:
- Tenants and housing campaigners say housing should not be a profit-making venture.
- Housing corporations say the main problem is the shortage of homes and the red tape around building them.
The presenter sums up the debate as state regulation versus the free market, and whether housing should be used to make a profit at all. The episode does not pick a side. It ends by saying that whatever path Spain and Berlin take, the rest of Europe will be watching.
Housing is a deeply political issue. In Spain, mass protests against exorbitant rents and evictions, and the prime minister staking his political future on what happens next. In Berlin, an election winner who wants to turf out real estate investment groups. And across Europe, a housing crisis begging for new solutions. Is it time for radical changes to Europe's housing market?
You probably don't need me telling you this, but there is a housing shortage in the EU. In 2025 alone, Europe needed 2.25 million homes, but only built 1.3 million, meaning there was a huge shortfall.
We all know how the market works. When supply is low, but demand is high, that makes both house prices and rent prices shoot up. And they're increasing faster than your salary is. Between 2010 and 2024, rents went up in all EU countries, apart from Greece. The worst hit was Estonia, where rents went up by more than 200%, followed by Lithuania at 177%. Almost one in 10 Europeans spends more than 40% of their income on housing, and maybe you're one of them.
So, what's changed? Simply put, housing is now an asset class that the financial sector wants to have. That means that real estate investment companies, insurance companies, hedge funds, or pension funds now control a lot of Europe's housing market. The power now belongs to those who make a profit from housing, not the people who actually live in it. And in Spain, people have had enough.
We are all Mari Carmen. That's the rallying cry of tens of thousands of protesters in Madrid and the rest of Spain. Mari Carmen Abascal is an 87-year-old woman from Madrid who was evicted from her flat on the 23rd of September. Her building had been bought by a property developer who then increased her rent by 275%, far more than she could afford.
When protests erupted, the developer backtracked and Abascal was able to return home. Protests are ongoing, however, and Spain has called its first general strike in 14 years on the 11th of November.
Mari Carmen's situation is symptomatic of a wider crisis across Spain. Rent has soared compared to incomes. Housing is difficult to find, and for many it's simply impossible to buy your own home.
The left-wing Spanish government announced several measures in response to the protests. A moratorium on evictions for vulnerable people until 2030, the automatic renewal of tenancy agreements, and stricter rules around holiday lets and short-term rentals. The authorities also want to target property speculators.
The rules were only set to last until 2028, but they were still rejected by Parliament last week, forcing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call a snap election.
Now, the government hopes to pass the measures through an interim legislature. Spain's tenants advocacy group welcomes the new law, but is calling for further action.
Sadly, as we were preparing this show, the news came in that Mari Carmen Abascal has died. Madrid's Tenants Union said that her eviction had caused a turning point in the country's history. Protesters have vowed to carry on fighting in her name.
Moving on to a radical idea for the housing market, decommodifying housing. Across Europe, you have these large property companies and funds that invest in apartments and speculate with them to make as much profit as possible. This has particularly been the case in Berlin in Germany, where the left-wing party Die Linke won Berlin's regional elections in September.
In 2006, for example, the property developer Deutsche Wohnen bought 60,000 flats from the city for just 450 million euros. That works out to only 7,500 euros per apartment. And you can bet that they haven't sold them on or rented them out at the same rates.
Die Linke wants to buy this housing back from these private corporations and put it in the hands of a non-profit democratic public body.
With 25.7% of the vote, the German left-wing party Die Linke clearly won Berlin's regional elections. According to a German polling institute, the housing market was the number one issue for half of Berlin's electorate.
Rents have risen faster in Berlin than anywhere else in Germany. Since 2016, they soared by nearly 70%, fueling demands for housing to be brought under public ownership. That would mean ownership of homes would be transferred from the private sector to the federal state of Berlin. A newly created public body would manage the properties and rent them out on a non-profit basis so that rents stay permanently low.
The plans would target publicly listed property companies owning more than 3,000 homes in Berlin. The largest of these is Vonovia. Together with its subsidiary Deutsche Wohnen, it owns 138,000 homes in the city.
There are around 1.7 million rental apartments in Berlin. Of these, more than 200,000 could be brought into public ownership under Die Linke's policy. Ironically, it was a coalition of two left-wing parties, the SPD and Die Linke, that sold off tens of thousands of homes to property companies in the 2000s in an effort to balance Berlin's budget.
If Die Linke's plans go ahead, Berlin would have to compensate the property companies. The big question is how much. Berlin is still short on cash. Experts say the bill could run to anything from 8 to 36 billion euros.
This is one of the reasons that decommodifying housing is so controversial. Critics say that the city simply can't afford it. It makes more sense to just use the money to build new housing instead. Germany's deeply unpopular Chancellor Friedrich Merz even wants to legally ban expropriation. Banks are warning that corporate capital is fleeing the city and property investors are up in arms.
German legal experts are at odds over whether expropriation is even lawful. Housing companies won't go down without a fight, and the spat could be taken to higher European courts. It could be years before the issue gets resolved, and meanwhile, the housing crisis will just rage on. So, what other options are there?
One of the fundamental messages of tenants and housing campaigners is that housing should not be a profit-making venture, but housing corporations say the predominant issue is a shortage of housing and all of the red tape that goes with it.
This debate can be boiled down to state regulation versus the free market economy and whether housing should be used to make profit or not. Whatever path Berlin and Spain choose to take, the rest of Europe will be watching.
That brings us to the end of this week's show. We'll be back soon with more news from around Europe. Ciao, hasta luego, and au revoir.
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