The Berlin rental rip-off: The housing crisis boom on tiny rooms

Just under 6 square meters for 600 euros a month. People moving to Berlin often find only overpriced, furnished short-term rooms available. It's all due to the city's housing shortage: Germany has rent cap laws, but they don't apply to temporary, furnished accommodation.

Some landlords even take it a step further. With drywall partitions, they're dividing existing apartments into multiple tiny rooms. What was once a four-bedroom apartment now has eight people crammed into it. It's often younger people moving to Berlin who face the worst of it. Now, the boroughs of Neukölln and Pankow are tightening regulations on room rentals and expanding neighborhood protection measures to crack down on the business model. Along with tenant activists, newcomers are pushing back against high rents and sketchy rental practices. The fight is on for affordable housing and the chance to build a future in Berlin.

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