Limitation of Rent Increase

The German Bundestag has decided the following rectification of the so-called rent-price brake:

Transparency
If a landlord requires more than 10% more than the local rent, he must inform the tenant before contract conclusion why he may exceed the rent. The landlord is required to disclose the pre-rent at the stand one year before completion.

Contradiction and complaint
If the tenant is of the opinion that his landlord demands too much rent, he can more easily object in the future. If the landlord justified, for example, the increase with an extensive modernization, the tenant can refer to it in his complaint. If the landlord does not provide a justification, a complaint can nevertheless be made by the tenant.

Modernization assessment
Nationwide, the tenants may increase within six years by a maximum of three euros per square meter. A special arrangement applies only to comparatively cheap rents. With net cold rent of less than seven euros, the monthly rent may rise by a maximum of two euros a year.

Cap limit
After modernization, the rent may not increase by more than three euros per square meter within six years. For net cold rent of less than seven euros, the monthly rent may rise by a maximum of two euros a year.

Damages and penalty
In the future, the tenant will be entitled to compensation if the property owner announces or carries out a modernization with the obvious intention of getting rid of the tenant. An indication of this would be, for example, if one year after the announcement nothing has happened, if the landlord announces a doubling of the rent or the construction work is unnecessarily burdensome for the tenant. A modernization or its announcement "in an abusive way" constitutes a misdemeanor and can be punished with a fine of up to 100,000 euros.