Akelius: Difference between revisions

In 2020, the company evaded Berlin's short-term rent cap by including '''"shadow rents"''' in leases—secret provisions requesting payment of '''as much as five times the advertised rent''', retroactively payable if the law were to be annulled.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Šustr |first=Nicolas |date=26 Jul 2020 |title=Akelius will Kasse machen |url=https://www.nd-aktuell.de/artikel/1139639.akelius-akelius-will-kasse-machen.html |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250708185452/https://www.nd-aktuell.de/artikel/1139639.akelius-akelius-will-kasse-machen.html |archive-date=8 Jul 2025|access-date=11 Apr 2025 |website=www.nd-aktuell.de}}</ref> When Germany's constitutional court ruled the rent cap null and void in 2021, Akelius started to recover these overpayments from renters, fueling indignation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goodman |first=Imogen |date=21 Apr 2021 |title='Extraordinary situation': What can you do if your Berlin landlord demands rent cap arrears? |url=https://www.thelocal.de/20210421/extraordinary-situation-what-can-you-do-if-your-berlin-landlord-demands-rent-cap-arrears/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250708185454/https://www.thelocal.de/20210421/extraordinary-situation-what-can-you-do-if-your-berlin-landlord-demands-rent-cap-arrears/ |archive-date=8 Jul 2025|access-date=11 Apr 2025 |website=The Local Germany}}</ref> The Berlin government intervened with a '''€10 million interest-free loan fund''' to aid affected tenants from being evicted.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Casey |first=Ruairi |last2=Ponsford |first2=Matthew |date=26 Apr 2021 |title=The Enduring Legacy of Berlin’s Rent Cap |url=https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/04/the-enduring-legacy-of-berlins-rent-cap |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250913061646/https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/04/the-enduring-legacy-of-berlins-rent-cap/ |archive-date=13 Sep 2025|access-date=11 Apr 2025 |website=Tribune}}</ref>

The '''United Nations Human Rights Council''' called out Akelius for systemic '''"renovictions"'''—coercive renovations to remove tenants and circumvent rent control.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smee |first=Michael |date=11 May 2020 |title=UN accuses Toronto apartment owner of human rights abuses |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/united-nations-toronto-apartment-human-rights-1.5563756 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/7gqhk |archive-date=7 Jan 2026 |access-date=11 Apr 2025 |website=CBC News}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=29 Apr 2020 |title=Corporate landlord is abusing tenants’ human rights, says UN housing expert |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2020/04/corporate-landlord-abusing-tenants-human-rights-says-un-housing-expert?LangID=E&NewsID=25845 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231007053222/https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2020/04/corporate-landlord-abusing-tenants-human-rights-says-un-housing-expert?LangID=E&NewsID=25845 |archive-date=7 Oct 2023|access-date=11 Apr 2025 |website=www.ohchr.org}}</ref> The UN Special Rapporteur on housing reported cases where residents were forced to live in uninhabitable conditions for months, with no running water or heating,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Simonpillai |first=Radheyan |date=11 Feb 2021 |title=As lockdown hit, Akelius tenants say cold water shortage lasted 96 days |url=https://nowtoronto.com/real-estate/akelius-canada-100-vaughan-road-cold-water-shortage/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250708185450/https://nowtoronto.com/real-estate/akelius-canada-100-vaughan-road-cold-water-shortage/ |archive-date=8 Jul 2025|access-date=11 Apr 2025 |website=NOW Magazine}}</ref> while Akelius undertook upscale overhauls to justify outrageous rent increases.<ref name=":0" /> Investigations also showed the company targeted low-income communities, disproportionately impacting vulnerable populations.