Who we are and what we do
We are a group of people who live or have lived in houses of the Mietshäuser Syndikat or have been part of initiatives that have tried to establish new projects. We pass on the knowledge and experience we have gained in these processes to new housing initiatives, existing projects, tenant communities and interested individuals in the Berlin-Brandenburg region. It is a form of peer-to-peer consulting and process support.
The consultation is free of charge, but we understand it as part of a solidary knowledge commons and hope in this sense that it is not in vain and that the groups that receive support from us will pass on their knowledge as well. Some of us do wage work in property management or architecture, but our work is no commercial project development. We don’t get paid for it and do it as part of our political engagement. We don’t know everything, we keep learning with every group and initiative, and we also make mistakes. But for many questions we can find an answer or develop a solution, also because we can approach the federal network of consultants of the Mietshäuser Syndikat.
The main focus of our work is consultancy on the Mietshäuser Syndikat model. However, we also advise on other forms of common goods oriented acquisition of real estate. Specifically, we advise groups and tenants‘ associations on all issues relating to the joint acquisition and long-term management of apartment buildings and commercial properties. We provide contacts and know-how mainly in the areas of finance and group processes and inform about the legal structure of the MHS. We also inform about the model of financing with direct loans.
In addition to consulting, we try to intervene politically and to promote the idea „The houses for those who live in them“ in the urban political debates.
Regular consultations are held (almost) every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month at 4:30 pm.
Contact
For registration for counseling and other inquiries contact us via e-mail: berlin-brandenburg(at)syndikat.org.
(with subtitles in english and dutch).
How do the initial consultations work?
Since every group and every house is different, there is no standard process and we design the consultations together with you. Normally, we have 1.5 h per appointment. Depending on the needs, we consult groups with similar questions together. The consultations take place in different projects of the Mietshäuser Syndikat in Berlin or online.
The consultation is open to all interested groups and does not require any prior knowledge. Please contact us by e-mail (berlin-brandenburg(at)syndikat.org) and we will arrange on which Friday and at which location the consultation will take place.
If you are unable to come, please cancel your registration so that we can make our time slots available to other groups.
We accompany groups that decide to join the Mietshäuser Syndikat during the whole process of becoming part of the network and, if necessary also after joining.
What we are not doing!
We do not advise or support groups that want to create private ownership of apartments or houses.
We do not give advice on tenancy law. If you have problems with your landlord or landlady, and in general, we recommend you to become a member of one of Berlin’s tenants associations.
We are also not an apartment exchange. If you are looking for a room or flat in one of our houses please contact the projects directly. You can find the (mail)addresses under the tab ‚Projects in Berlin & Brandenburg‘ as well as on the main page of the Mietshäuser Syndikat.
We do not act as a broker for houses. However, if we get to know about suitable properties, we approach groups in our network.
If you are a homeowner or heiress and want to hand over your property to good use, and enable longterm affordability, you are welcome to contact us. However, we dont’t want offers from real estate agents.
We do not support esoteric and anti-emancipatory projects. In those cases we might also cancel consultation processes.