Akelius
Contents4
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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
Exploitative Rent Policies Under Berlin's Rent Cap (2020-2021)
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)
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
- ↑ 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.