Rent brake: Housing market facing a new wave of regulation

Apartment blocks in Berlin

Between 2006 and 2020, rents for furnished apartments rose by 78.2 percent across Germany, almost 50 percentage points more than those for unfurnished apartments.

(Photo: dpa)

Berlin Some property owners know exactly how the so-called rental price brake can be circumvented in order to achieve more returns when renting out apartments. The procedure is very simple.

Landlords put some furniture in the apartment and then charge high surcharges. It’s not even illegal. In tense housing markets, the rent brake also applies to furnished living space.

However, if the landlord does not show the furnishing surcharge separately in the rental agreement, the net rent is not completely transparent. This means that tenants cannot understand whether the rental price limit has been adhered to.

The red-green Hamburg Senate now wants to close this loophole in the law and is bringing a corresponding initiative to the Federal Council this Friday. Should the legislative proposal be passed by the responsible committees of the regional chamber, the federal government would have to forward it to the Bundestag for a resolution.

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