Vonovia sharply criticizes Berlin’s possible apartment expropriation plans

Germany's largest landlord Vonovia VNAn.DE on Wednesday sharply criticized the possible expropriation of apartments by a new state government in Berlin, calling it the "wrong way to go" and highly questionable legally.

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Elif Eralp, the far-left leader pushing ​to take over as mayor of Berlin, has ​pledged to expropriate more than 200,000 housing units from corporate landlords in a campaign that ​made the party reach its best result in the ​German capital in September's election.

Vonovia CEO Luka Mucic said expropriation would provide no additional housing.

"It would be the wrong approach and send a dangerous signal about the economic strength of our entire country," he told journalists.

Berlin and other large cities have faced a housing shortage and rising rents, sparking anger and fear among voters.

"The very debate over this issue undermines confidence in property ownership, investment, and Germany as a business location overall. And in doing so, the Left Party’s plans also jeopardize our prosperity," he added.

(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi and Tom Sims, editing by Thomas Seythal)

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