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Fight for water: Friedrichshain district saves tenants from homelessness!
In the Berlin district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, over 1,000 tenants suffer from unpaid water bills. The district office intervenes to avoid evacuations.
Fight for water: Friedrichshain district saves tenants from homelessness!
Over 1,000 tenants are affected in Berlin because unpaid water bills endanger an impending evacuation in the harbor site complex. The district office Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg is now trying to secure the water supply after the Berlin water operations (BWB) informed the district office about outstanding invoices in the upper six-digit range. In order to defuse the situation, those responsible decided to take over a discount payments for the months of November and December. City Councilor Florian Schmidt emphasized that this is about hazard defense to prevent homelessness. The costs that would arise in the event of an evacuation amount to around 700,000 euros per month, whereas the payments are around 50,000 euros.
The owner companies, in particular the Hedera Group, defend themselves against the allegations and claim that there were ambiguities in the billing that resulted from changing administrators. Despite the water discharge payments obtained from the tenants, they were apparently not forwarded to the water operations. This leads to speculation about a possible rental strategy of the Hedera Group. In addition, a tenant expressed dissatisfaction with the condition of the real estate, as there is a lack of broken elevators and pests.
Takeover of discounts by the district office
The district office has offered to make the necessary discount payments directly to the Berlin water operations from November 2025 in order to avoid immediate parking the water supply. The BWB agreed to this proposal at the end of last week. Schmidt announced that the district office will check legal paths in order to better control the payments and to prevent dismissals due to rent arrears.
The circumstances are particularly urgent, since the port site complex not only houses hundreds of private tenants, but also a refugee accommodation with around 600 residents. A water storage would make the entire residential complex uninhabitable, which would result in a resettlement of the residents into emergency accommodations. In the coming weeks, comprehensive information is to be distributed to the tenant in order to prepare it for the current situation and to support it in your need.
Further support for affected tenants
There are support options for tenants who are threatened by the loss of the apartment or are in financial emergency. These include the mediation of living space, advice on new renting and help with rental and energy debts. The Office for Social Affairs of the residential area is usually responsible locally, which should ensure timely support. Special regulations also exist for people without a permanent residence or in the ongoing asylum procedure.
Florian Schmidt also expressed general outrage over the business practices of some owner companies and announced that the district office would do everything in its power to support and protect tenants from repression. However, the personnel capacities in the urban development office are limited due to reductions in senate, which makes it difficult to combat such machinations.