Q216
We are tenants of the Q216 building. We all have different problems, be it with the property management, the broken doors or the excessively high rents. As individual tenants, we have had the experience of not being listened to. That’s why we’re now joining forces to tackle the problems together with the tenants’ union. As numerous other rent disputes in Berlin show, it is possible for us as tenants to change things if we organize ourselves together.
Do you also live in Q216?
Get in touch and organize with your neighbors now! This is the only way you can improve the conditions in the house.
The demands
What has happened so far
October 18, 2024
The taz reports on the rent war in Q216
A journalist from the taz newspaper accompanied us as we measured the apartments.
“During the negotiations in the summer, a recalculation of the service charges was agreed with the landlords,” explains Lino. “The current costs are based on incorrect living space measurements, which is why they need to be lowered,” insists the trade unionist.
The property management company advertises two types of apartment on the Q216 website: The smaller apartment with 25 square meters is offered for 524 euros warm rent, which corresponds to a price of 21 euros per square meter. Anyone renting a 35 square meter apartment receives the warm square meter at a discount price of just under 20 euros and pays 695 euros, including operating and heating costs.
The Q216 active group has already completed the top three floors. Lino draws an interim balance: the apartments are significantly smaller than stated in the advertisements and rental contracts – on average by ten percent, he says.
You can find the full article today on taz.de or in the print edition on Monday.
October 14, 2024
Another letter from the law firm with empty threats
On October 14, we receive another letter from a lawyer regarding the notices of defects. They continue to refer to the lack of “power of attorney documents”, which we still do not need in our role as messengers. They also threaten us again, as they did at the picnic, with alleged legal consequences:
If we receive another report of such deficiencies without any corresponding evidence, we will contact the relevant supervisory authority in order to have what we consider to be unlawful behavior reviewed and, if necessary, sanctioned.
If we receive further complaints from our neighbors, we will of course continue to pass them on and work to ensure that the property management finally carries out the repairs in the building.
September 26, 2024
The apartments in Q216that are too small are measured independently
In the last few days, we have started to measure the first apartments in our Q216. We want to find out how big our apartments actually are because the rental agreement only states approximate sizes. This may be formally legal, but it will be problematic because we need the actual size to calculate the rent index. In addition, parts of the billing of ancillary costs are based on the supposed square meters. In our measurements, we can currently see in all cases that the actual apartment size is smaller than stated in the rental agreement. For example, several apartments declared as 35 square meters turned out to be only 32 square meters. This means that the apartments are even further above the rent index than originally thought. It is particularly striking that exact square meter figures are advertised everywhere. On the official Q216 website, you can even find floor plans that show exactly 35 square meters. The fact that the apartments are actually smaller is not communicated anywhere. Instead, we only receive vague formulations in the rental agreement. Over the next few weeks, we want to measure more apartments, but there already seems to be a system behind it.
September 27, 2024
The owners try to spread discontent in the house
Strange letters have appeared in the letterboxes of many of the building’s tenants today. Without a clear sender, letterhead or signature, the message, which appears to come from the owners, looks somewhat dubious.
We see the owners’ letter as an attempt to increase insecurity in the house. Nevertheless, we don’t want to ignore it if neighbors feel disturbed. That’s why we posted a message about it in the house’s chat groups shortly afterwards. We only want to act in the interests of the house. We respect people who don’t want contact and are always open to feedback.
September 20, 2024
The owners break off negotiations with a letter from a lawyer
We receive another letter from the law firm Seldeneck & Partner by email. In this letter we are informed that the negotiations have been broken off by the owners. They say:
However, your sometimes adventurous, if not outlandish, legal opinions with regard to the tenants’ rights you claim no longer allow for such a constructive dialog.
It has also been announced that the property management will also ignore us as tenants.
[…] [Die] property management will no longer respond to letters from you in future, but will forward them exclusively to me for reply to you. You can rest assured, however, that I will also not respond to any future letters if you do not first send me a power of attorney from individual tenants concerned that legitimizes you.
As we act exclusively as a messenger for the notification of defects, we do not need a power of attorney. The other claims are also named and rejected. The law firm also asked for the tenants’ telephone numbers. This seems very strange to us, as the addresses of the property management should be known.
Are you actually claiming that there is a general right to a rent reduction (for whom)?
The current rent index applies throughout Berlin. This is particularly relevant for us, as our rents often exceed the permissible limits. They write about the pictures:
It goes without saying that our client will not replace any pictures in the corridors of the property at your behest. […] [Die Eigentümer erklären,] that they are naturally prepared to replace these pictures with other pictures if tenants, especially female tenants, express the view that parts of the art objects in the corridors are perceived as offensive or sexist.
In doing so, they ignore the fact that the demand for replacement by a tenant was included in the list at the 1st house meeting. Instead, they refer to an alleged house ban. However, this was not issued, nor can we as tenants be banned from our own building.
In a letter dated 01.08.2024, we issued you with a ban on entering the property at Frankfurter Allee 216 in the name of and on behalf of our client.
In the past, we had been told several times over the phone that dissatisfied tenants could simply move out, even without meeting the deadlines. We had also communicated this transparently in the in-house group chat. We have been exchanging information here for many years. The law firm writes about this:
Finally, I would like to refer to the WhatsApp group that you have apparently set up. […] Where did you come up with such an assertion? Do you seriously want to give the impression in your WhatsApp group that you have everything under control in the interests of the tenants […]
Later it is admitted that there was an offer to cancel without notice:
At best, this assertion referred to the tenants who are currently dissatisfied due to your intervention […].
However, a look at the Google reviews reveals that tenants have long been dissatisfied with the current situation in the building. An impression that is also confirmed by our hundreds of door-to-door conversations.
September 05, 2024
The house community collects suggestions for replacement pictures
As a result of the agreements from the negotiation meeting, we have collected alternative works of art and photos in our building to replace the problematic pictures.
We will send these suggestions to the owners by email. In our message, we also emphasize once again the agreements we made together.
In addition, we have announced that we will soon begin with the planned apartment measurements. We have also proposed December 3 for the next negotiation date that has already been agreed.
August 27, 2024
The owners withdraw the promises made during the negotiations
Jill Heisterhagen, representative of the owners, has responded to our minutes. In her response, she contradicts several of our points. She writes about the pictures:
Your voting results for the replacement of 20 images have no relevance for us. […] We are miles away from a democratic majority decision here. Nor can we see what is supposed to be sexist about the majority of the images.
A calculation that compares the number of votes cast per picture with the total number of all tenants ignores the principle of a normal representative vote. In no democratic election is 100% participation expected or achieved. Our voting procedure was transparent and accessible to all tenants. It was also possible to view the current status at any time.
For the apartment sizes, she quotes from the rental agreements.
The areas agreed in the rental agreement are expressly not part of the contractually agreed target quality of the apartment, as evidenced by the clear contractual agreements in this respect.
This statement implies that the actual apartment size is not contractually guaranteed. This is technically correct, but the supposed sizes are still used for advertising, service charge and rent calculations. Irrespective of this, Lutz Lakomski made a clear commitment during the negotiation that the rents would be adjusted to the actual apartment size.
It goes on to say about the rent level:
The net cold rents are within the local comparative rent according to the rent index 2024 of the Berlin Senate. When entering the rent index query, there are differences between the MGB and us. […] This legally permissible means of justification shows higher rents for our portfolio than we have agreed with our tenants.
The letter contains neither a precise calculation nor the expert opinion. However, the report is said to contain the basis that the actual year of construction of 1979 is not used for the calculations, but the year of the conversion of the building of 2013. This puts the house on a par with a new building from 10 years ago, for which a higher rent may be demanded. Without these documents, the claims cannot be verified.
August 26, 2024
Q216 tenants submit over 40 defect reports
After we received the last latecomers to the defect reports, we sent around 40 of them to the new property management company Quartier Immobilienmanagement GmbH on August 26. The most frequent complaints include broken windows, mold in bathrooms, water damage and defective doors in Q216. In addition, the bottom floor was painted dark last year, causing the apartments to heat up even more in the midday sun. In winter, condensation forms on the windows of others and there is a draught. Sometimes the window pane is cracked or there is a hole in the wall just below it. There were also reports of cockroaches in the corridors. It is particularly frustrating that the reported defects have been ignored time and again in the past. From our letter:
As you already know, there were some problems with the old property management company, which is why you have taken over this task since June 2024. […] [ Due to the old property management ] a backlog of grievances has accumulated that have not yet been addressed. We have compiled some of these in the form of notices of defects to give you a good basis for addressing the problems in the building. We ask you to respond to this letter within the next 14 days and to make progress visible to all tenants.
August 22, 2024
The negotiating group asks the owners to confirm the protocol several times
After more than two weeks with no response, we decide to contact the owners’ company by phone. We reach Jill Heisterhagen, who tells us that Lutz Lakomski is on vacation. She asks us to refrain from calling again, but at the same time assures us that she is working on an answer and does not agree with our protocol.
We continue to hope for the corporate values proclaimed on your official GPU Immobilien GmbH website, such as “reliability” and “partnership-based cooperation”.
August 13, 2024
The negotiating group meets with the owners in a café
The next day, we meet with the owner Lutz Lakomski and the business partner’s daughter Jill Heisterhagen at Café Plötner on Anton-Saefkow-Platz in the afternoon. The conversation is very constructive and we are able to discuss many of the demands. There is a clear commitment to adjust the rent to the actual size of the apartment and a promise to comply with the applicable law (rent index), although there is still disagreement about exactly which year of construction should be used for Q216. We agree on a follow-up meeting before the end of the year. In addition, a clear commitment is made to search for the disputed images. As agreed, we send a report the next day summarizing the results of the meeting.
August 12, 2024
The house community votes on the pictures for Q216
The owners agreed to replace the problematic pictures in the hallway in an email from the builder’s representative. In order to democratically determine which ones, we held an online vote in our building for around two weeks. Over 150 neighbors voted. The majority in the house decided to swap 20 pictures. These were sexist depictions of women, some completely naked, as well as Coca-Cola advertising. Hopefully these will now finally be swapped. We will bring the results to the hearing.
August 4, 2024
The neighborhood picnics and collects defect reports
On August 4, we go through the entire Q216 with 16 people in teams of two and ring our neighbors’ doorbells. We had previously distributed forms for rent complaints in the letterboxes and informed them about the current status of the negotiations.
We discuss the common problems and help each other to create around 40 notices of defects in a structured way with the help of forms. These are an important formal step in case the apartments are not repaired and it comes to court hearings. From now on, rent payments will only be made subject to reservation. The rent complaints are sent collectively by registered mail to the property management company.
In the evening, we got together with over 40 neighbors for a picnic – there hadn’t been any major joint events in the house for a long time. There was a varied buffet with salads, pretzels, drinks and beer – plus a soccer tournament. When it got dark, we went to one of our apartments together and continued the party. We are delighted that so many people came despite the unfounded threats in the lawyer’s letter.
July 30, 2024
Lawyers try to ban the next picnic
To strengthen the house community, we invite our neighbors to a picnic together in front of the house. We promptly receive a letter from a lawyer, which is also shared in the house chat.
In it, the law firm Seldeneck & Partner threatens to ban us from the house from 31.07.24:
“We must therefore […] ask you to refrain from holding events on our client’s property. Should you […] hold this event on our client’s property unlawfully, our client will take legal action against this unlawful behavior. As a matter of precaution, we would like to point out in this context that entering the property despite a ban on entering is illegal and that there is at least reasonable suspicion that the criminal offense of trespassing […] has been committed. You will understand that our client does not wish to encourage your political activism without any factual reference to reality […] by using her property”
We do not allow our neighborhood picnic to be reinterpreted as a “street party” and decide to hold the event anyway.
July 28, 2024
Neighbors inform themselves about the current situation with letters
In order to keep our neighbors in Q216 up to date and continue to involve them, we are writing a detailed letter to everyone. In it, we inform them about the status of the demands and invite them to a picnic in front of the house. We also distribute a link to vote on which pictures should be exchanged in the house. This way, only our neighbors have the opportunity to vote. We also provide regular updates on the current status in the joint house chat, but we want to make sure that we reach everyone in the house.
July 25, 2024
The negotiating group calls the owners directly
On 25.07.24 we had a lengthy phone call with the owners of our apartment building. It started with an upset Mr. Ulrich, who quickly handed the conversation over to his daughter. She will be our contact person in the future.
Despite efforts to focus the conversation on finding a date, topics such as cleanliness and murals came up repeatedly. The owners felt they were being treated unfairly and initially saw little point in a meeting. It became clear again and again during the conversation that the owners had a completely different perspective on the housing crisis and their responsibility in it.
If the tenants don’t like it, they should move somewhere else. It can’t be that difficult in Berlin either, I’m not welfare.
After some back and forth, we agreed on a meeting in a café – two people from their side, two from ours. The owners will send a proposed date within a week.
July 18, 2024
The client’s representative tries to deligitimize us in an email
On July 15, we receive a reply to our open letter, this time from the client’s representative. In addition to repeating points that are already known, two statements stand out in particular. He writes on the subject of sexist depictions:
With regard to the allegedly tasteless and sexist murals, the owners are waiting for information from the tenants as to which pictures should be removed or replaced. We also recommend a visit to the Andy Warhol exhibition at the Neue Nationalgalerie. Art and taste are often very different.
This statement raises interesting questions. The current exhibition “Velvet Rage and Beauty” explicitly addresses Warhol’s depictions of bodies, sexuality and gender. It critically examines how Warhol’s works were often considered “immoral” or “pornographic” during his lifetime.
The exhibition shows that a differentiated examination of representations of bodies and sexuality is also necessary in art. The reference to this exhibition underscores the relevance of our criticism rather than invalidating it.
Nevertheless, the owners are prepared to exchange the paintings.
The client representative comments on the legal form of our trade union.
Our clients find it strange how an unregistered association, which is not a legal entity and therefore has no legal capacity, presents itself to the outside world as a trade union.
Most of the major trade unions in Germany are not organized as registered associations. A prominent example is IG Metall, which describes itself as the largest single trade union in the world.
The legal form of an unincorporated association is common for trade unions and has no influence on their legitimacy or ability to act. Our organizational form is therefore part of a long tradition of the German trade union movement.
July 7, 2024
The neighborhood has a picnic in front of the Q216
After many more formal meetings and planning, the community picnic finally took place today. Around 40 neighbors gathered in front of Q216 to network, have fun and enjoy a relaxed evening together. In bright sunshine and a cheerful atmosphere, cold drinks and snacks were shared on the lawn and soccer was played. The meeting went on until late in the evening, and the warm conversations and shared laughter strengthened the sense of community and made the day an unforgettable experience.
July 5, 2024
The tenants send their demands directly to the owners
The request for a personal meeting has so far been ignored. We are therefore contacting the owners directly once again.
Dear Mr. Arndt Ulrich and Mr. Lutz Lakomski,
We are pleased to contact you directly as the owners of the property at Frankfurter Allee 216. As you have received our last letter, but have not been able to offer an appointment as of today, we are contacting you directly once again
. Your monthly appointments in Berlin are certainly a good opportunity to get to know each other personally. […] We would ask you to contact us within 14 days to arrange an initial meeting. We would like to find solutions to the current problems together and promote constructive cooperation.
June 29, 2024
The owners respond defensively with anopen letter
On 29.06.2024, we as tenants received an open letter from the owners. It contained several false allegations:
Among other things, we will clarify with the new property management company […] whether cleaning the corridors and stairwells twice a week is sufficient.
In fact, however, a notice in the building only announced a once-weekly cleaning.
They also fail to provide the required transparency regarding the poor Internet connection.
Together with the new property management company, we will clarify which steps are necessary for a prompt connection to the fiber optic network.
We only hear from Telekom that the owners have not yet agreed to any expansion.
Unfortunately, the building cannot be connected to the fiber optic network for the time being. The owner of the building does not agree to the fiber optic expansion.
Despite the alleged plans for a “prompt connection”, we tenants have not yet been informed of any concrete steps or timetables. Instead, you are calling for us to move out:
If you are still of the opinion of the “Initiative” that you are living in an overpriced, dirty, unsafe and sexist Q 216, you are of course free to terminate your tenancy agreement at any time and reorient yourself on the free housing market.
We feel that this formulation is not very solution-oriented. We all need a roof over our heads, which is not so easy to find, especially in Berlin. In addition, we all have to sign a minimum rental period of 2 years and therefore can’t just move out.
June 21, 2024
Some tenants hand over the demands to the property management
“The rent activists came to the headquarters of Q.I.M. Quartier Immobilienmanagement GmbH to draw attention to the conditions in a building on Frankfurter Allee in Lichtenberg. Q.I.M. is taking over management of the building from property management company Optima from July. After years of vacancy, the former office building was supposed to provide young people with an affordable apartment of their own. Despite this, many tenants are now complaining about excessive rent demands. There are also complaints about the living conditions in the building: tenants report theft from the basement, pest infestation in the apartments and a property management company that does not respond to emails and calls. “Cockroaches and other pests are getting into our apartments,” reads a letter written by the tenants.”
You can find the entire article about the handover of the letter of demand from the Q216 delegates at ND. We are now waiting for an appointment with the owners to start a discussion.
June 16, 2024
The first house meeting of Q216 decides on demands
After 3 months and countless discussions, the first house meeting was finally held in Q216. All neighbors were personally invited to collectively and democratically discuss the next steps for better housing. After the productive discussions, several speech bubbles appeared in the building in the evening with the voices of the tenants.
There are even more pictures on Instagram.
June 06, 2024
External tenants support the preparation of the house meeting
In a few days, the first house meeting of Q216 in Lichtenberg will finally take place. In order to invite all neighbors directly and to exchange ideas about the many problems in the house, we were able to talk to many tenants today in bright sunshine directly in front of the house. Come and network on June 16, because together we are stronger! Follow us on Instagram for more information. We are happy to answer any questions.
March 30, 2024
The neighborhood exchanges ideas at 461 door-to-door talks
461 doors, 461 doorbells, 461 conversations. A mammoth task. And yet, with a team of tenants and people from the neighborhood showing solidarity, we have already spoken to over 100 people in the last few weeks. Many people have similar problems. The property management is not available, the rent is too high and some things are broken. One feeling unites us: together we are stronger! That’s why we will be networking and joining forces in the coming weeks for better conditions in Q216.
February 01, 2024
Some tenants in Q216 are starting to organize themselves
At the beginning of the year, tenants from one of Lichtenberg’s largest apartment buildings contacted the union. Hundreds of tenants live in more than 450 one-bedroom apartments in Q216. The building was built in 1979 and converted into living space in 2012. The new rental prices are extremely high for Lichtenberg and a heavy burden for many residents: €524 warm for 25 square meters or €695 for 35 square meters. There are also many other problems. The tenants want to take action against this together with the trade union.