The German finance minister has backed controversial proposals for a five-year rent freeze to tackle the rising cost of living in Berlin, warning: "We don't want to end up like London”.

Olaf Scholz, who is also vice-chancellor in Angela Merkel’s coalition government, voiced support for plans to block landlords from increasing rent on residential properties for five years.

“If we don't want to end up like London, where even lawyers and doctors have to live with flatmates, because they can't afford their own apartment, then we have to do something about it,” Mr Scholz told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

Berliners have traditionally revelled in the image of their city as “poor but sexy”, as it was famously described by a former mayor, but that is increasingly at odds with reality.

Rents have risen rapidly as Germany’s booming economy has attracted people from across Europe, and the city has seen protests from locals complaining they are being priced out of the market.