DSC Legal advises the first Employee Housing Cooperative “Job & Living”
On 5 November 2025, the big day finally arrived! In the presence of the Mayor of Spandau, Mr. Frank Bewig, and the District Building Councillor, Mr. Thorsten Schatz, the foundation stone was laid for the first employee housing project of the SME initiative “Job & Living” (“Job & Wohnen”). Some impressions of this festive event can be viewed here.
As the project owner, the Erste Mitarbeiterwohnungsbaugenossenschaft “Job & Wohnen“ Berlin eG (First Employee Housing Cooperative “Job & Living” Berlin eG), founded in November 2019, will construct a total of 112 apartments, a daycare center, and a building with shared mixed-use facilities (community coffee shop, co-working area, laundry room and neighborhood workshop) at the “Havelschanze” site by early 2027. The one- to four-room apartments will subsequently be made available for use by employees of the member companies entitled to occupy them. The future rents are capped at an initial EUR 7.00/m² (subsidy model 1) and EUR 11.50/m² (subsidy model 3) for the 99 occupancy-restricted social housing units, and approximately EUR 16.50/m² for the remaining privately financed apartments.
The location of the property, the arrangement of the individual buildings and the construction progress achieved by the end of November 2025 can be seen in a construction site video.
The building plot near the river Havel covers 6,400 m² and is secured in the land register through a 90-year hereditary building right (Erbbaurecht) granted by the State of Berlin. The energy standard of the buildings to be constructed corresponds to the “Efficiency House Level 40 Renewable Energy” (incl. heat pumps, photovoltaic rooftop systems, green roofs and urban gardening). The project, which is funded by IBB (Berlin’s development bank) and KfW (Federal development bank), also includes a modern mobility concept with e-bikes and charging infrastructure, as well as an innovative heat supply contracting.
DSC Legal has provided comprehensive legal advice to Erste Mitarbeiterwohnungsbaugenossenschaft “Job & Wohnen" Berlin eG (First Employee Housing Cooperative “Job & Living” Berlin eG) since its foundation. This particularly concerned the establishment of the cooperative and its representation in negotiations of (i) the leasehold agreement and several addenda thereto with the State of Berlin (represented by Berliner Immobilienmanagement GmbH), (ii) the loan and security agreements with the financing banks and public funding institutions (IBB, KfW), (iii) the general contractor agreement and addenda thereto, and (iv) a heat supply and roof-use agreement for the contracting of photovoltaic systems. The legal advice provided to the cooperative also covered all relevant cooperative law issues, including support in the preparation and conducting of a large number of general meetings.
DSC Legal also advises various initiators of additionally planned “Job & Living” projects, for example in Munich, several municipalities on the Baltic Sea (e.g. Timmendorfer Strand, Scharbeutz, etc.) as well as in Berlin, Teltow, Cottbus and other locations in the Lusatia region.
Smart and to the point.
DSC Legal is a law firm with a notary’s office located at Bebelplatz in Berlin.
Our experienced lawyers and notaries are specialized in providing comprehensive legal advice and support to domestic and foreign clients in connection with real estate transactions, project developments, the creation of condominium property as well as the establishment, acquisition and operation of companies.
DSC Legal is particularly committed to strengthening the cooperative business model, true to the basic idea of the cooperatives and their founding father Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen: "What one person cannot achieve is achieved by many”. We create tailored cooperative concepts for our clients and assist them in their implementation.
Cooperative law, as part of corporate law, is one of the core areas of our legal advisory practice.