The first day of the heating outage was manageable. But with each passing winter day, the temperature continued to drop. “Sometimes I only have eight degrees in the bathroom and kitchen. If you think about it: a refrigerator is six degrees,” says Susan Clandillon. For ten weeks now, her apartment at Bastianstraße 22 in Berlin-Gesundbrunnen has been cooling down. For ten weeks, none of the radiators have been warm. The owner is the controversial Adler Group. The entire house community is affected by the heating failure – and they are increasingly desperate.
Life in the Cold: A Tenant’s Struggle
When 37-year-old Susan Clandillon spoke with the Berliner Morgenpost, she was in Leipzig, having to find accommodation due to the cold. Prices in Berlin are too high, Clandillon reports. “I’m only staying a few days. Just to take a hot shower and get warm again.” Her despair has grown significantly. “I’m exhausted, also because no one answers me,” Clandillon says. At first, wearing multiple layers of clothing was enough. But with persistent sub-zero temperatures in Berlin, that’s no longer sufficient. Since Susan Clandillon only has an electric heater for her bedroom, she now feels trapped there.
The first damage report was sent by the tenants of Bastianstraße to the Adler Group on November 24, 2025. But no help ever came from them. Employees always referred them to other employees, stating they were not responsible, as a second tenant reports. The 36-year-old prefers not to be named in this article, but the Morgenpost knows him. He also states: “It’s very, very draining.” The man has meticulously documented his contacts with Adler and kept temperature logs. In his apartment, the temperature these days does not rise above nine degrees. He is very worried about his two cats, who have to endure the cold in the apartment. Although he has acquired electric heaters and radiators, he switches them off for safety reasons when he leaves the house for work. “So I can’t stay away for longer than eight or nine hours.”
“It’s very, very draining.” – Affected tenant from Bastianstraße
Outdated Technology and Corporate Neglect
The fact that tenants in Berlin repeatedly experience heating failures often has to do with outdated technology. And with property owners and administrations who respond very hesitantly to their tenants’ requests for help. In the case of the Adler Group, too, tenants complain that they have no fixed contact person and receive little or no response. When asked by the Berliner Morgenpost about the heating failure at Bastianstraße 22, Adler stated: The “complete heating system” would be repaired this week. This would require replacing the pump. A heat exchanger had already been renewed at the end of January. Already after receiving the first reports in November 2025, a “specialized company was immediately commissioned,” Adler further explained. This company initially repaired the heating system, but the failures reoccurred.
Adler Group in Crisis: A Troubled Legacy
The Adler Group has been in crisis for some time and is heavily indebted. Many of the properties in the group’s portfolio are in poor structural condition. Experts say Adler operated a questionable business model for years. Properties were often bought with borrowed capital to grow. But the associated maintenance tasks were neglected. In Steglitz, the company’s financial difficulties also affect those who dreamed of owning an apartment. Under the name Steglitzer Kreisel, 330 new condominiums were to be built. Completion was once planned for 2022. Since then, buyers have been waiting for their apartments to be completed. But this will no longer happen with Adler. The company announced in January 2026 that it was not economically able to complete the project.
The Future of Bastianstraße: Uncertainty and Cold
There is speculation that the group, which is said to have accumulated four billion euros in liabilities by last year, wants to sell the approximately 18,000 apartments belonging to the company in Berlin. Adler had recently refused to comment on the sales rumors to the RBB. In other cities, such as Hamburg, however, the sale of properties by Adler has already begun, as media report. Last autumn, Adler announced that it had sold the so-called Holsten-Quartier in Hamburg. Given the owner’s poor economic situation, some in Bastianstraße hardly believe that Adler will invest anything more in its Berlin apartments. Rather, they assume that the group will ride out the problems until a buyer is found. The residents could therefore continue to sit in cold apartments.
Time is running out, however. Because the persistently low temperatures also promote humidity in the apartments. The Mitte district office has already sent employees to inspect the apartment building in Bastianstraße. Initial signs of mold were discovered. The condition of the house could therefore worsen with each passing day. And so could the situation of the tenants.
Source: https://www.morgenpost.de/bezirke/mitte/article411122702/monatelanger-heizungsausfall-berliner-mieter-am-ende-ihrer-kraefte.html
