BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann has accused the SPD of delaying the planned extension of the rent freeze. "I am surprised that the SPD is delaying the rent freeze with new additional demands," the FDP politician told the Rheinische Post newspaper. From his point of view, it would be possible to bring the matter before the cabinet in the near future.

In April, the traffic light coalition agreed to extend the rent freeze beyond 2025. In tight housing markets, the rent freeze ensures that, in principle, the rent may not be more than ten percent higher than the local comparative rent when a new rental agreement is concluded. The respective state government decides whether the rent freeze applies in certain areas. The coalition agreement also included a compromise on the storage of communication data for investigation purposes ("quick freeze procedure").

"Both drafts are currently in the Chancellery for final clarification in the coalition," said Buschmann. "There is still a need for coordination on individual technical points."

In May, Dirk Wiese, deputy leader of the SPD parliamentary group, announced that he would insist in the legislative process on the rent freeze "that we also make it effective". Specifically, he called for a change to the rule that the rent freeze does not apply to new buildings that were first used from October 2014. "This exemption from the rent freeze should be increased from 2014 to 2024," he told the Rheinische Post newspaper at the time./sku/DP/zb