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IMAGO \/ Olaf Schuelke<\/p>\nIMAGO \/ Olaf Schuelke<\/p>\n
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Berliner in need of a long-term rental contract must be in want of a miracle. Any time a suitable apartment pops up on Immoscout, there are hundreds of other hopeful \u2013 if not desperate \u2013 applicants vying for the same place. As the city gets more and more crowded, space itself feels in short supply. But the real irony is this: Berlin has an abundance of empty buildings. To be exact, there are over two million square metres available, room enough for tens of thousands of people to live. The problem is that it\u2019s currently in the form of not-in-use offices. So why in the name of a widely agreed-upon housing crisis aren\u2019t we turning them into places to live?<\/p>\n
Offices for a WFH Culture<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start, as usual, with good-old German bureaucracy. Up to 15 years: that\u2019s how long it typically takes to build a building in Berlin. Planning permission alone demands an average of nine years, according to the BFW, the association of private real estate developers. Much of the office space entering the market today was conceived of before Covid-19 changed the way workplaces operate. Before the pandemic, Berlin couldn\u2019t build offices fast enough. The tech sector was booming, startups were scaling and vacancy rates were stable at around 1.5%. Then Covid came and went, but remote working stayed put.<\/p>\n
Today, over 40% of Berlin\u2019s knowledge workers are remote at least three days a week. Companies still need office space, sure, but far less of it. Take up in 2025 was the lowest since 2009 and had decreased by 14.5% compared to 2024. The city saw only seven deals for leases over 5,000 square metres in 2025. But even as demand falls, the supply pipeline keeps delivering. This year alone, an estimated 600,000 square metres are being completed, according to Colliers: 600,000 square metres designed for a work culture that no longer exists.<\/p>\n
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IMAGO \/ Olaf Schuelke<\/p>\n
The Conversion Conundrum<\/p>\n
With new office buildings entering the market, companies can choose between shiny and high-spec in prime locations or old and dull in less desirable locations. Guess which one they go for. They no longer want more space; they want better space. Prime rents have risen to \u20ac48.90 per square metre per month, leaving less central locations increasingly stranded. Now, the obvious answer is to convert these older spaces into housing, but financial reality intervenes. Developers finance office buildings against commercial rental yields, which are significantly higher (\u20ac25.80 per square metre on average) than residential ones. Permanently converting to housing permanently devalues the asset, potentially leaving owners unable to service their loans. For many landlords, the math simply doesn\u2019t add up.<\/p>\n
There are over two million square metres available, room enough for tens of thousands of people to live.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why most of the conversion activity in Berlin hasn\u2019t gone towards permanent housing but to commercial projects that maintain higher yields. Limehome is a perfect example of turning former office space into short-term rental units. They\u2019re mostly used for shorter visits but can also be booked for an extended period at a higher cost per square metre than a traditional long-term rental. A&O Hostels recently acquired 31,000 square metres of vacant office building near Checkpoint Charlie from Allianz for \u20ac40 million to convert into what will become Europe\u2019s largest hostel, with approximately 2,500 beds and set to open in early 2027. However, while commercially savvy, serviced apartments and hostel beds won\u2019t solve Berlin\u2019s housing crisis.<\/p>\n
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IMAGO \/ Funke Foto Services<\/p>\n
Limits of Creative Solutions<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s CommUnits, an initiative born out of Transitr\u00e4ume e.V., Berlin\u2019s most established interim use network. They\u2019re inspired by the city\u2019s free-spirited 1990s, when creatives took over empty buildings and made something extraordinary out of what nobody else wanted. CommUnits installs modular micro-apartments inside vacant offices, creating a miniature neighbourhood with communal spaces, a community app and shared facilities. Pilot projects are underway at the Sarotti-H\u00f6fe in Kreuzberg, on Joachimsthaler Stra\u00dfe and at the Treptown complex in Treptow. The model is designed for newcomers, creatives and short-term residents: \u201cThose more interested in affairs than in marriage,\u201d Sascha Wolf, co-founder of Transittr\u00e4ume, puts it.<\/p>\n
The concept is clever, not least because it sidesteps the loan trap. Building owners let the space at a reduced rate for about three years without permanently altering the property. This leaves the door open for future commercial use. However, there\u2019s a legal wrinkle that reveals just how far Berlin\u2019s regulatory framework impedes the city\u2019s needs. Under current law, CommUnits can\u2019t simply install housing in vacant offices. Instead, the units must be classified as hostel accommodation \u2013 a workaround that caps residents at a six-month stay. \u201cThe result is the same,\u201d says Moritz Tonn, deputy chair and managing director of Transitr\u00e4ume e.V. \u201cBut naming them hostels is what the law allows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Residents who wish to stay longer can, in principle, move between CommUnits, but Berlin\u2019s bureaucratic restrictions remain a massive obstacle. A shorter stint in a modular pod might be perfect for newcomers and those in flux, but it\u2019s not a long-term home. It\u2019s a stopover. It\u2019s creative and community-minded. One must admit it\u2019s very Berlin indeed. But it is, fundamentally, only a temporary solution.<\/p>\n
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IMAGO \/ Rolf Kremming<\/p>\n
Where\u2019s the Senate?<\/p>\n
The Senate is noticeably absent from this picture. Christian Gaebler, senator for urban development, building and housing, took over as chair of the national Bauministerkonferenz (Conference of Ministers of Construction) in January 2026. Among his stated priorities was removing regulatory barriers to the conversion and mixed use of commercial buildings. On paper, it\u2019s exactly this agenda that\u2019s necessary. In practice, industry figures say they\u2019ve seen little concrete action from the Senate to facilitate large-scale, office-to-residential conversion in Berlin. There\u2019s the sense that Gaebler is waiting until Berlin\u2019s upcoming elections before committing to ambitious new projects. The Senate\u2019s press office didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
I look at Graz and think it\u2019s possible. Why is it not possible in Berlin?<\/p>\n
To be fair, the Senate is not a free agent. Officials who engage with the interim use sector acknowledge the logic of flexibility, but are constrained by a legal framework that offers none. Changing a building\u2019s use from office to residential is technically possible. But it\u2019s also irreversible.<\/p>\n
The contrast with other cities is instructive. Moritz Tonn of Transitr\u00e4ume e.V. is clear-eyed about the limits of what the private sector can deliver. With building costs soaring, markets in flux and planning permission taking up to nine years, Berlin developers aren\u2019t in a position to build housing at a price ordinary Berliners can afford. The long-term solution, he argues, has to come from the city itself. \u201cTake a look at Graz,\u201d he says. Graz, Austria, surrounded by a right-wing regional government yet led by the Communist Party, has in recent years delivered a significant volume of affordable housing simply by deciding it was a priority and acting on it. \u201cI look at Graz and think it\u2019s possible. Why is it not possible in Berlin?\u201d<\/p>\n
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IMAGO \/ Pond5 Images<\/p>\n
Dust, Not Rent<\/p>\n
The question is not whether Berlin lacks space for housing. It has plenty of space. There\u2019s simply not enough political ambition to use it. The frustration from Berliners is palpable. There\u2019s a huge housing demand, two million square metres of empty space and developers willing to do the heavy lifting. But there\u2019s also no supportive, regulatory framework that would make permanent conversions financially viable \u2013 and no political will to introduce one anytime soon. The oversupply of offices might eventually stabilise once the pipeline catches up to the work culture. But until it does, Berlin\u2019s housing crisis worsens and two million square metres stand around collecting dust \u2013 not rent.<\/p>\n