海角大神

When Kiddy Citny, an artist whose murals appeared on the original Berlin Wall, returned from a trip to Hong Kong a few months ago, he found a Europe transformed by the coronavirus pandemic. But while the art world went into hibernation in the crisis, he found new purpose as an advocate of affordable housing, just as Berlin passed a historic rent freeze into law.

Though a famously cheap city to live in not long ago, Berlin has seen its rental market explode in the last few years, threatening the hip urban culture that has grown up here. 鈥淎rt is what鈥檚 made Berlin so big over the last 25 years鈥� says Mr. Citny, who dodged East German guards to paint the Berlin Wall before 1989. 鈥淏ut few artists can really afford to have a studio anymore 鈥� everything Berlin has stood for is essentially disappearing.鈥�

The city-state capped the rents of 1.5 million units for the next five years in a freeze that took effect in February, as advocates hope Berlin can avoid becoming a London or San Francisco of unaffordability.聽But conservative politicians are contesting the policy鈥檚 constitutionality in court, and say rent freezes might actually prevent developers from expanding the housing supply. Advocates for affordable housing globally are watching what could be a milestone move.

鈥淏erlin is sort of leading the way,鈥� says Hanna Wheatley, a housing economist at the London-based social justice think tank New Economics Foundation. 鈥淚t鈥檚 massive that controls are getting pushed through, because it鈥檚 been grassroots led. If renters can be mobilized and activated as a pressure group, they might have real impacts on what the rental market looks like.鈥�

No longer affordable

For two decades, Mr. Citny has lived in a two-room apartment in the city-center neighborhood of Sch枚neberg. Light streams in from both sides. Rent is affordable. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an apartment that you would never give up,鈥� says Mr. Citny.

Mr. Citny鈥檚 situation had already been helped by the rent cap law; his landlord had planned to sell the unit last year, only to change his mind because of the pending policy. 鈥淭he law prevented the apartment from being sold out from underneath my feet,鈥� says Mr. Citny.

On the open market, Mr. Citny would have found rental rates unaffordable. Indeed, property values have skyrocketed over the last decade; in 2017 the city nabbed the honor of experiencing the world鈥檚 largest year-over-year property price increases at 21%, according the Knight Frank Global Index Report. That amounts to a doubling of rents over the last decade, in a city where the average Berlin household pulls in only 鈧�2,000聽($2,200) a month after tax, and where four of five residents are renters.

A scarce 1% of vacancies are affordable for a single person per Berlin standards, according to a 2019 study underwritten by the federal government.

With a few exceptions, the rent freeze law would fine landlords in violation up to 鈧�500,000, says Katrin Lompscher, Berlin鈥檚 secretary for urban development and housing.

Mr. Citny鈥檚 landlord is a private party who bought decades ago, and doesn鈥檛 face the profit pressure of newer investors. Therein lies the problem with the rent cap strategy, says Berlin-based housing economist Pekka Sagner. It puts some private investors in financial dire straits, while disincentivizing developers to build new housing stock. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 ultimately the issue 鈥� we need more housing.鈥�

Another problem? The law isn鈥檛 permanent, points out Christoph Albrecht, an attorney who advises Mieterschutzbund Berlin, the tenant protection association. 鈥淩enters have been given a breather but they should look for alternative housing,鈥� Mr. Albrecht says. 鈥淏ecause what if the tenant doesn鈥檛 have more money [in five years]?鈥�

Because the law鈥檚 future is uncertain, renters鈥� unions are counseling tenants to keep any rental refunds in a rainy day fund, in case they need to give it back.

The 鈥淏erlin experiment鈥�

Sky-high housing prices aren鈥檛 unique to Berlin, but the feeling is that it鈥檚 still early enough in Germany鈥檚 capital city that there鈥檚 a fighting chance, while the ship has largely sailed in other places.

鈥淟ook at London and Paris, how expensive it is for really small living space,鈥� says Mr. Albrecht, the attorney. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to reach that here.鈥� Homeless numbers have skyrocketed in Los Angeles, New York, and other cities. Those with shelter aren鈥檛 necessarily less anxious, since watching rents jump around them creates housing insecurity, the economists say.

Solving this dilemma is key to maintaining vibrant societies, say affordable housing advocates. Most Americans and Europeans already view housing as a human right, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty.

The question is how to ensure affordable and accessible housing. 鈥淲e鈥檙e entering uncharted territory,鈥� Secretary Lompscher writes in an email. Having given renters a breather, she says, the city is well aware the next step is to 鈥渟trengthen the building sector鈥� and increase housing supply.

Though controversial, rent control has been the go-to measure in most large cities across North America and Europe, and policies encompass everything from how initial rents are set to rates of increase during tenancies to enforcement measures for wayward landlords.

San Francisco provides a cautionary tale; it tried a rent freeze in the early 1990s, only to watch real estate become a buyer鈥檚 market that favored people with money. 鈥淪ellers were trying to realize profits by offloading properties, because they could no longer profit from rents,鈥� says the economist Mr. Sagner. That paved the way for high-paid Silicon Valley types to jump in. Freezes made gentrification 鈥渆ven more possible, because simple teachers were driven out of the area,鈥� Mr. Sagner says. Lisbon experienced a similar dynamic.

In New York, London, and Amsterdam, housing has become an asset that people buy for investment, rather than for shelter, explains the London economist Ms. Wheatley. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of unhealthy demand. People aren鈥檛 buying houses to live in.鈥�

Housing and art in the time of COVID

During a pandemic, adequate housing 鈥� with proper services 鈥� becomes even more critical. 鈥淗ome has rarely been more of a life or death situation,鈥� says Leilani Farha, United Nations special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing. Worldwide, about 1.8 billion homeless and inadequately-housed people are particularly vulnerable to contracting the illness, she says.

And, as governments try not only to stop COVID-19 but lessen economic fallout, they鈥檙e lowering interest rates. That creates a potentially dangerous set of circumstances. A similar situation allowed investors to take over the real estate landscape after the 2008 global financial crisis, says Ms. Farha. 鈥淪tates must prevent the predatory practices of institutional investors,鈥� she cautioned in a press release.

Indeed, 鈥済one for profit鈥� is how Mr. Citny, the artist, characterizes what鈥檚 happened to his city, even as he鈥檚 hopeful the new law will have some positive effect on affordability.

With the coronavirus requiring social distancing and 鈥渘o one buying art,鈥� Mr. Citny is thankful he had the good timing to downsize his studio before the pandemic hit. He鈥檚 been biking between his apartment and his smaller studio, thinking about how to work the feeling of 鈥渆mpathy鈥� into upcoming projects.

鈥淭his rent freeze is a really important law,鈥� says Mr. Citny. 鈥淚t helps preserve Berlin鈥檚 calling card. Artistry is the highest form of community.鈥�