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In-depth analyses, legal developments and new findings on the Berlin asbestos scandal. The English-language section curates the most internationally relevant pieces; the full archive is published in German.
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The Renovation Permit That Should Never Have Been Issued
May a landlord approve a renovation when it knows about asbestos? Berlin's degewo did, in 2012. The anatomy of a renovation permit that should never have been issued.
Read more InternationalAustria's Asbestos Quarries — Documented for Decades, Spread Across Two Countries
Asbestos-bearing rock from four Austrian (Burgenland) quarries reached hospital forecourts, playgrounds and Hungarian roads — flagged to authorities since 1994. The operators, the EU loophole, the cost.
Read more InvestigationNaunynstraße 2019: The Word Missing from degewo's Notice
In 2019, degewo's Kreuzberg modernisation notice did not contain the word 'asbestos'. Two years earlier, a Berlin court had ruled it had to.
Read more BackgroundChristoph Beck's Twenty Years at degewo — What Changed, and What Didn't
After 20 years as CEO of Berlin's largest state-owned landlord, Christoph Beck leaves. The asbestos problem stays — and so does the strategy.
Read more Law & PolicyEU Asbestos Directive 2023/2668 — What Lower Workplace Limits Mean for Tenants in Berlin
EU lowered asbestos exposure limits tenfold. Germany implemented Directive 2023/2668 for workplace safety — 58,847 Berlin tenants gain nothing.
Read more InternationalHow France and Poland Disclose Asbestos — and Why Germany Doesn't
France: asbestos register for every pre-ban building. Poland: failing to report is a crime. Germany has neither — Berlin tenants pay the price.
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