📊 Rent, rent brake and index-linked rent
In brief
The rent brake applies in cities with a tight housing market. For a new agreement, the rent may be at most 10 percent above the local comparative rent. Which areas are affected is decided by your federal state.
The brake has been extended until the end of 2029.
If you pay more than allowed, you can claim money back. But you must complain to the landlord about the breach (Rüge). Do so early: if you complain only after 30 months, you only get back the rent from receipt of the complaint.
There are exceptions, for example for new-builds (first used after 1 October 2014) or if the previous rent was already higher.
With index-linked rent, the rent follows consumer prices. It may then rise at most once a year.
Step by step
- Check the areaAsk your federal state or a tenants' association (Mieterverein) whether your municipality is in the rent brake ordinance.
- Work out the comparative rentUse the local rent index (Mietspiegel). Add 10 percent.
- Clarify exceptionsAsk about the previous rent and about modernisation or new-build.
- Complain in writingTell the landlord that the rent is too high. Keep proof of receipt.
Deadlines
- Without a complaint there is no repayment (§ 556g BGB).
- Exceptions: previous rent, modernisation in the last three years, new-build (first use and letting after 1 October 2014), first letting after comprehensive modernisation.
- Whether your town belongs to the tight market depends on the state ordinance. This list can change.
- Rules limiting index-linked rent in tight markets are only a draft bill (Mietrecht II), not yet law.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Rent brake, §§ 556d ff. BGB
Under § 556d Abs. 1 BGB, at the start of the tenancy in areas with a tight housing market the rent may exceed the local comparative rent by at most 10 percent. The state governments determine the areas by legal ordinance (§ 556d Abs. 2). The ordinances must expire by the end of 31 December 2029 at the latest and must give reasons: which facts evidence the tight market and which remedial measures the state government takes. The Bundestag decided the extension on 26 June 2025; previously the provision was limited until 31 December 2025.
Exceptions, §§ 556e and 556f BGB
A higher previous rent may still be demanded, whereby rent reductions and rent increases in the last year before the end of the previous tenancy are disregarded. After modernisations in the last three years, a surcharge under § 559 is permitted. § 556d does not apply to flats first used and let after 1 October 2014, nor to the first letting after comprehensive modernisation.
Reclaiming rent, § 556g BGB
Rent paid in excess must be returned under the law of unjust enrichment, but only if the tenant has complained about the breach. If he complains more than 30 months after the start of the tenancy or only after the tenancy has ended, he can only reclaim the rent that fell due after receipt of the complaint.
Index-linked rent, § 557b BGB
The parties may agree in writing that the rent follows the consumer price index determined by the Federal Statistical Office. The rent must remain unchanged for at least one year each time. Increases under § 558 are excluded; increases under §§ 559, 559e are possible only within narrow limits. The change requires a declaration in text form stating the index change and the new rent, and applies from the beginning of the month after next following receipt.
Planned reform (not current law)
According to the BMJV and the Bundestag, the government draft "Mietrecht II" provides: in tight markets, for index-linked rents only half of the price increase above 3 percent per year may be passed on. For furnished flats, furnishing surcharges are to be shown separately. First reading in the Bundestag on 9 July 2026; status since then: no adoption evidenced.
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