AfD has to vacate its office by 2026 – landlord goes to court!

AfD has to vacate its office by 2026 – landlord goes to court!

In a fresh dispute over the AfD's federal headquarters in Berlin, the party must prepare to vacate its current premises in the Wittenau district by autumn 2026, following a ruling by the Berlin regional court. As rbb24 reports, this judgment is based on a lawsuit by the landlord Lukas Hufnagel, who had applied for the termination of the rental agreement after the AfD violated rental specifications at an election party in February 2025 had violated.

At this election party, the AfD not only celebrated its election victory with 20.8 percent of the vote, but also exceeded contractual limits by conducting outdoor advertising and unauthorized use of the building. The landlord argued that he therefore wanted to terminate the AfD without notice, but the court rejected this because Hufnagel had not previously issued a warning. The rental agreement, which originally ran until the end of 2027, now obliges the AfD to vacate the majority of the premises by September 30, 2026 and the remaining areas by December 31, 2026.

The search for new premises

The search for a new, more representative seat near the Bundestag is proving difficult for the AfD. Many landlords are hesitant to do business with the party, given the observations by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and protests against the AfD, as ZDF highlights. However, Kay Gottschalk, the deputy chairman of the AfD, was optimistic and promised that the party would move to a new property in 2026, without revealing any details about the situation. However, the search could be expensive, as the prices for properties under consideration are sometimes in the double-digit million range.

Hufnagel reported that he received threatening calls and blackmail attempts from leading AfD members during the trial, which further complicated the situation. The landlord had also made the party an offer that included a higher rent and a later move out, but the AfD rejected this. The dispute between Hufnagel and the AfD appears to highlight deep tensions, with Hufnagel reporting threatening calls during the trial and the AfD denying all allegations.

Legal dispute without agreement

Although the court day brought clarity about the need for eviction, an amicable agreement in the process could not be reached. Lars Hufnagel feels harassed by the AfD and accused the party of not dealing with his concerns responsibly. The trial, in which a one-off payment from the AfD was also rejected, shows how deadlocked the fronts between landlord and tenant are, although Gottschalk described the court day as a “big day for the party”.

The Berlin district court has thus defined the legal framework that the AfD still has until the final eviction. There is now nothing standing in the way of an appeal to the Berlin Court of Appeal if the AfD considers this step. The future of the federal headquarters therefore remains tense, and the party still has a number of challenges to overcome before it can move into a new property.