The Federal Ministry of Justice published a reform proposal on Sunday Tenants should protect. The draft provides for stricter requirements for landlords and aims, among other things, to allow fewer exceptions to the rent cap.
The black-red federal government had extended the rent brake until the end of 2029. When re-letting an apartment, the rent may not be more than 10 percent higher than the local comparative rent. There are exceptions for the first rental of new buildings, for comprehensive modernization, for older contracts and for short-term rentals.
“Those looking for affordable housing find it extremely difficult in many places today,” says Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD). One reason for this are problems with tenancy law.
Clear rules on furniture surcharges
Anyone who rents out a furnished apartmentaccording to the draft, should in future be obliged to state how much money they budget for the use of the furnishings each month. There should be an upper limit and the age of the furniture should be taken into account. The regulation is intended to make it easier for tenants to find out whether the landlord is complying with the rent cap.
The rules for short-term rental agreements should also become stricter. Since these are exempt from the rent control, landlords can charge higher rent. In the future, a statutory maximum limit of six months will apply to short-term rentals.
In addition, tenants should be better protected against terminations. Anyone who has fallen behind should be able to avoid a regular termination by paying the rent in arrears.
Index rents should also be more strictly regulated. In these cases, the increase in rent is based on the development of consumer prices. The draft from the Ministry of Justice stipulates that in the future the increase may not exceed 3.5 percent of the previous net rent per year.
“Overdue” and “toothless”?
The Green Party’s rent policy expert, Hanna Steinmüllercriticized the draft law to the taz: “Justice Minister Hubig is currently more of an announcement minister.” So far, the minister has limited herself to announcing interim steps every few weeks with a lot of press. It should “accelerate its own processes instead of marketing the same draft over and over again.”
Steinmüller described the draft itself as the “absolute minimum” and overdue. In order to limit rents, Steinmüller proposed stricter regulations: “If you want to stop the general rise in rents, you have to lower the cap limits and, above all, ensure that tenants can actually enforce their rights.” What is crucial is the interaction between rent controls, the ban on exorbitant rents in the Criminal Code and protection against abusive terminations for personal use.
If you want to stop the general rise in rents, you have to lower the cap limits and, above all, ensure that tenants can actually enforce their rights.
Hanna Steinmüller, Green Party
The rent policy spokeswoman for the Left, Caren Lay, welcomed the plan to regulate furnished living, short-term rental agreements and index rental agreements in an interview with the taz: “The many loopholes in the rent control must finally be closed!” Unfortunately, the restriction on index rental agreements in the draft law is only temporary and depends on state regulations. This is “unpractical”. Lay also criticized the plan to allow landlords to pass on higher modernization costs to tenants in the future than was previously the case. “This is already one of the most popular loopholes for rent control,” she said. In order for the law to be effective, penalties are finally needed for violations of the rent cap. “Otherwise this law will remain a toothless tiger.” (dpa, taz)