Voters were asked if they approved of the expropriation of the property of private real-estate companies with 3,000 or more units in the city, through public purchases by the Berlin state government.

[2] The initiative for the referendum was originally launched in 2018, but the emergence of a new tenant movement in Berlin dates back to the early 2010s, including a first rent-referendum in 2015 called "Mietenvolksentscheid".

[7] But the existence of an article allowing socialization was employed to advocate for pauses on rent increases or expropriation of high-volume property ownership.

[8] Article 15 states the legal basis i.e "Grund und Boden [..] können zum Zwecke der Vergesellschaftung durch ein Gesetz [..] in Gemeineigentum.. überführt werden"[9] (Land, natural resources and means of production may, for the purpose of socialization, be transferred to public ownership or other forms of public enterprise by a law that determines the nature and extent of compensation).

On 28 June 2023, nearly two years later, the commission concluded in its 150 page report that landlords can be expropriated and compensated with below-market value by the Berlin government.

[5][dead link‍] With the signature collection phase cleared, a referendum was scheduled for 26 September 2021, the same day as the Berlin state and federal elections.

[20] The initiative Deutsche Wohnen & Co enteignen started with a one-page paper listing their demands in fall 2018, a condensed version became the text of the referendum in 2019-2021.

In 2022, an edited volume published by the initiative summarized the German debate on socialization, including voices from legal experts, the Berlin Senate, trade unions and environmental organizations.