房价是一个全球性问题，即使在房价相对较低的柏林，政府也在为房租逼走人口而苦恼。房租上涨过快引发本地居民的不满，甚至要求从大业主那里征用房产。当地政府为此正在起草法案，要求从2020年起五年内不得涨房租，而业主联盟的对策则是在近期普涨房租。最后谁会赢得这场没有硝烟的战争呢？

Berlin's government has moved to freeze rents in the booming German capital for five years from 2020 in their latest bid to halt runaway gentrification.

为了阻止愈演愈烈的城市绅士化趋势，德国首都柏林市政府刚刚决定从2020年起五年内柏林房租停涨。

gentrification[,dʒɛntrɪfɪ'keʃən]: n. 下层住宅高档化，乡绅化，（地区的）贵族化，绅士化。绅士化指一个旧区从原本聚集低收入人士，到重建后地价及租金上升，引来较高收入人士迁入，并取代原有低收入者。

Once described as 'poor, but sexy', Berlin has seen its housing costs double over the last decade as employees lured by the strong job market move into the city.

柏林曾被描述为“虽然穷但是性感”，后来因受到强劲就业市场的吸引，人们纷纷搬到柏林工作，导致柏林的房租在过去十年间涨了一倍。

The sharp rent hikes have led some residents to ponder radical solutions, including pushing for the seizure of housing stock from powerful landlords.

房租猛增导致一些居民开始考虑激进的措施，包括呼吁从大业主手中夺走房产。

ponder['pɑndɚ]: vt. 仔细考虑；衡量

housing stock: 住宅；住房存量

Alarmed by the trend, Berlin's city government agreed Tuesday on the outlines of a draft law that would include a temporary freeze on rents for five years from 2020, with a bill now to be drafted.

这一趋势令柏林市政府感到不安，于是上周二政府通过了一项纲要草案，其中包括从2020年起五年内房租暂时停止上涨，目前正在起草法案。

For decades after German unification in 1990, the capital was a magnet for artists, musicians and students drawn by housing far cheaper than in other major European cities - partly the legacy of its decades marooned inside East Germany as a mere satellite of the West's economy.

1990年德国统一后，几十年来首都柏林一直以廉价房租吸引着艺术家、音乐家和学生。柏林房租比其他欧洲大城市都要便宜得多，一部分是由于过去数十年东德的经济一直附庸于西德的遗留影响。

maroon[mə'run]: v. 使孤立

satellite['sætəlaɪt]: n. 随从

But around 40,000 people a year have moved to Berlin in the last decade, and rents have more than doubled since 2008, according to a study by the online housing portal immowelt.de. A record influx of refugees in 2015 has not helped, experts say.

但根据房产门户网站immowelt.de的一项研究，在过去十年间，每年约有4万人移居到柏林，自2008年以来房租已经涨了一倍多。专家表示，2015年涌入的大量难民进一步推高了房租。

Some 85 percent of Berliners rent their homes rather than owning them. Proposals to help them had ranged from expropriating large property owners to speeding up affordable housing projects.

约85%的柏林人没有自己的住房，都是租房住。为了帮助解决柏林人的住房问题有各种提议，从征用大业主的房产到加速经济适用房的建设。

expropriate[ɛks'proprɪet]: vt. 没收，征用；剥夺

The cap means 'protection against rent increases for 1.5 million apartments,' tweeted the Berlin government's department for urban development and housing.

柏林政府城市发展与住房部发推文称，限制令意味着“针对150万套公寓房租上涨实行的保护措施”。

Under the plan, landlords who seek to raise rates because of renovation work will also have to seek official approval for any increases above 50 cents per square meter.

根据这一草案，由于翻修房屋而计划涨房租的房东在每平米涨价超过50分的情况下必须获得官方批准。

Only social housing and private property that has not been let out would be exempt.

只有社会保障房和没有出租的私人房产可以不受该草案限制。

The move is being closely watched across Germany, where a backlash is growing over fears that residents are being priced out of key cities.

整个德国都在密切关注这一举动，因为各大城市的居民都在担心会租不起房，抵制情绪也越来越强烈。

In an indication that the Berlin example could snowball into something wider, the SPD, has pledged to champion such rent controls nationwide.

德国社会民主党暗示柏林的范例会引发更广泛的改变，并承诺要在全国推行房租限制令。

champion['tʃæmpɪən]: vt. 支持；拥护

'We need a rent price cap for all of Germany,' said Thorsten Schaefer-Guembel, one of the three interim SPD leaders.

德国社会民主党的三位临时领袖之一索斯藤·谢弗-古恩伯说：“我们需要在全国推行房租限制令。”

He argued that the measure would help 'win time to build, build and build'.

他指出，这一措施有助于“赢得时间来建更多更多的房”。

Merkel herself has voiced skepticism about such caps, warning that 'we must also provide an environment for people to want to build'.

德国总理默克尔则对限制令表示怀疑，她警告说：“我们也必须营造一个有利于建房的环境。”

'It must remain advantageous and attractive to invest in residential property.'

“住宅地产投资仍需保持优势和吸引力。”

While the political climate in Berlin is turning against landlords, the influential property-owners association Haus und Grund has said it would not be cowed.

尽管德国的政治气候不利于业主，但颇具影响力的业主联合会Haus und Grund表示他们不会受胁迫。

cow[kaʊ]: vt. 威胁，恐吓

In a clear call for pre-emptive action, the association had urged members to raise rents by Monday night (June 17).

该协会已敦促会员在6月17日前涨房租，这显然是为了先发制人。

pre-emptive[pri'emptiv]: adj. 先发制人的

Although there are still huge swathes of unbuilt land and new construction mushrooming across the city, much of what is coming onto the market is out of reach for low-income locals.

尽管柏林还有大块土地可以用于建房，各处的新楼盘也如春笋般拔地而起，但是大部分进入市场的楼盘都是低收入的本地居民买不起的。

mushroom['mʌʃrʊm]: vi. 迅速增加

The rates in Berlin are still below those in key capitals around the world.

如今柏林的租金依然低于世界主要国家的首都。

However, average rent prices in Berlin have pushed past 10 euros per square meter per month, according to a recent study by a real estate group CBRE Berlin and German mortgage bank Berlin Hyp AG.

但是，根据房地产集团CBRE Berlin和德国抵押贷款银行Berlin Hyp AG近日发布的一项研究报告，柏林的平均房租已经超过了每月10欧元每平米。

The rental freeze debate comes as residents are trying to seize the initiative by pushing for a referendum to seize buildings from landlords with more than 3,000 apartments.

在全民热议房租停涨之时，试图夺取主动权的柏林居民正在推动一项市民公投，从拥有3000套以上房产的地产商手中征用房产。

referendum[,rɛfə'rɛndəm]: n. 公民投票

On Friday, the initiators of the citizens' vote said they had cleared the first hurdle by obtaining 77,001 signatures - more than three times higher than the 20,000 needed to launch such a referendum.

上周五，这项公投的发起者称，他们已经获得了77001个签名，比发起公投所需的2万个签名超出了三倍多，扫清了第一道障碍。

For the Tagesspiegel newspaper, the trend of runaway rents and growing revolt grew out of from the government's failure to tackle the problem.

《每日镜报》指出，房租失控和反抗情绪的高涨源于政府无力解决这一问题。

'If the rental cap splits the government, then that's something that it brought upon itself: because for far too long, far too little has been built. But the call for new construction alone won't help.'

“如果房租限制令让政府内部出现分裂，这是他们自找的：因为政府建的房屋太少了，这已经持续了太长的时间。但是光是新建房屋并不能缓解事态。”