Padovicz Corporate Group? Expropriate!
Tenants fight against displacement and vacancies
The real estate developer Gijora Padovicz has been working since the 90s as a buyer and renovator of entire blocks of flats – above all in the Friedrichshain neighborhood. Closely connected with the Berlin Senate, he was one of the profit-makers and beneficiaries of the public renovation subsidies within the framework of the Urban redevelopment of the 2000s.
In Friedrichshain alone, he was granted half of all the subsidies for the renovation of old buildings. Municipal housing companies like the WBF, sold him for ridicule prices their holdings. The official mandate of politics: to upgrade the inner city.
This is not a city renovator but a destroyer of living spaces.
The consequences for tenants were, and are, devastating: rent increases, destruction of social structures and ultimately displacement. The Padovicz commissioned property management companies (Factor, Vivo and Neumann) refuse maintenance and constantly increase rent and maintenance costs. Apartments have been vacant for years and remaining tenants are left powerless and forced to accept unfair conditions or leave.
The method has remained the same since the 90s: first the houses fall into disrepair, then with partly rough methods (sudden fires, burst water pipes, broken flats, etc.) vacated in order to modernize on the right occasion (e.g. when subsidies flow again), as cheaply as possible. Even the companies comissioned by Padovicz regularly complain about unpaid invoices: more than 250 companies had to file for bankruptcy in the meantime. In spite of the business conduct and proven subsidy fraud, state politicians continue to work with the Padovicz companies. Most recently, the Senate sold building land to Padovicz in the Rummelsburger bay.
Padovicz is certainly not the only one who has made profits with living space and his methods against tenants are not unusual. Also, these methods against tenants are not unusual on the deregulated Berlin housing market. Nevertheless, the example of Padovicz shows how important is the interest of the local district and regional policy in upgrading and supporting such type of investors.
Enlighten, network, resist!
Again and again, tenants are standing in the way of the concentrated power of the Padovicz Group. For this purpose we want to create a counterweight and counter action through information, networking and joint actions. We want to be involved in all that relates to support the disputes with the Padovicz Group.
Because only together we can make this business as unprofitable as possible. Too long has been waited for the Senate, on whose behalf and with whose support Padovicz work is made possible. We demand: end of the cooperation with such investors, unwinding of the deals with Padovicz and ultimately dissolution of the Padovicz Group in the
interests of tenants.
Informations on Padovicz, the houses and network actions on
padowatch.noblogs.org
Which houses belong to Padovicz, in which conditions they are, how many house are empty waiting for their speculative profit and how satisfied are its tenants? Take part in our survey and study on padowatchblog@riseup.net
