BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – The rent control measure, designed to protect tenants in areas with tight housing markets from sharp rent increases, is set to remain in effect beyond the end of the year. The Bundestag is scheduled to vote today on extending the regulation until the end of 2029. The property owners’ association Haus und Grund has dismissed the measure as unnecessary, while the German Tenants’ Association has welcomed the extension in principle but now expects the black-red coalition government to address the numerous existing exemptions.
The rent control applies in regions designated by the respective state governments as having strained housing markets. When a property is newly rented in these areas, the initial rent may not exceed the local comparative rent by more than ten percent. This comparative rent is the average for similar properties, as reflected for instance in local rent indexes.
Exemptions from the rent control include, among others, newly constructed apartments that were first rented out after October 2014, as well as properties that are being re-rented for the first time following comprehensive modernization./hrz/DP/zb
