Thousands of Germans take to the streets in the capital Berlin to vent anger over surging rents
Demonstrators walk through the Karl-Marx-Allee street as they protest against gentrification and rising rents in Berlin on April 6, 2019
Polls suggest such a measure could pass, forcing the city to consider spending billions of euros buying privatised housing back. For decades after unification in 1990, Berlin became a magnet for artists, musicians and students drawn by housing that was far cheaper than in other major European cities. Around 85 percent of Berliners rent their homes rather than own them.
Campaigners, who call their movement "expropriate Deutsche Wohnen", have six months to gather 20,000 signatures and until February to collect a further 170,000 to force a referendum. A February poll showed 44 percent of Berliners support renationalising flats, while 39 percent oppose it.
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