Akelius
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| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1994 |
| Legal Structure | Private |
| Industry | Real Estate |
| Also known as | |
| Official website | https://www.akelius.com/ |
Akelius is a corporate landlord that owns 20,000 rental apartments in major cities such as New York, Boston, Washington, Austin, Toronto, Montreal, Québec City, Ottawa, Paris and London.
Incidents
[edit | edit source]Exploitative Rent Policies Under Berlin's Rent Cap (2020-2021)
[edit | edit source]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.[1] When Germany's constitutional court ruled the rent cap null and void in 2021, Akelius started to recover these overpayments from renters, fueling indignation.[2] The Berlin government intervened with a €10 million interest-free loan fund to aid affected tenants from being evicted.[3]
UN Human Rights Violations Accusations (2020)
[edit | edit source]The United Nations Human Rights Council called out Akelius for systemic "renovictions"—coercive renovations to remove tenants and circumvent rent control.[4][5] 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,[6] while Akelius undertook upscale overhauls to justify outrageous rent increases.[5] Investigations also showed the company targeted low-income communities, disproportionately impacting vulnerable populations.
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Šustr, Nicolas (26 Jul 2020). "Akelius will Kasse machen". www.nd-aktuell.de. Archived from the original on 8 Jul 2025. Retrieved 11 Apr 2025.
- ↑ Goodman, Imogen (21 Apr 2021). "'Extraordinary situation': What can you do if your Berlin landlord demands rent cap arrears?". The Local Germany. Archived from the original on 8 Jul 2025. Retrieved 11 Apr 2025.
- ↑ Casey, Ruairi; Ponsford, Matthew (26 Apr 2021). "The Enduring Legacy of Berlin's Rent Cap". Tribune. Archived from the original on 13 Sep 2025. Retrieved 11 Apr 2025.
- ↑ Smee, Michael (11 May 2020). "UN accuses Toronto apartment owner of human rights abuses". CBC News. Archived from the original on 22 Feb 2026. Retrieved 11 Apr 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Corporate landlord is abusing tenants' human rights, says UN housing expert". www.ohchr.org. 29 Apr 2020. Archived from the original on 7 Oct 2023. Retrieved 11 Apr 2025.
- ↑ Simonpillai, Radheyan (11 Feb 2021). "As lockdown hit, Akelius tenants say cold water shortage lasted 96 days". NOW Magazine. Archived from the original on 8 Jul 2025. Retrieved 11 Apr 2025.