What does the rent brake regulate?
If a lease is signed in an area with a tight housing market, the rent at the start may exceed the local comparative rent by no more than 10% (§ 556d BGB). The state governments designate the municipalities by ordinance.
The rent brake has been extended. Since 23 Jul 2025, the states' ordinances may apply until 31 Dec 2029 at the latest.
Permitted rent = local comparative rent per m² × living area × 1.10
Where the rent brake applies
The rent brake only applies in municipalities named in a currently valid state ordinance. The lists change constantly, so the calculator first asks you whether your municipality is affected. There is deliberately no automatic derivation from the postcode.
If you don't know, CIRO calculates as if the rent brake applies. Then check your federal state's ordinance.
The areas with a rent brake and the areas with a reduced capping limit (Kappungsgrenze) of 15% for rent increases are not the same. Both are set out in separate ordinances.
Worked example
A 60 m² flat is to be let again. The local comparative rent is €10.00 per m². The planned rent is €700 net cold.
- Comparative rent: €10.00 × 60 m² = €600.
- Permitted rent: €600 × 1.10 = €660.
- Excess: €700 − €660 = €40 per month. That part would be invalid.
- If the previous tenant paid €720, that rent may be agreed again. The planned €700 is then within the limit.
Exemptions and duty to inform
- Previous rent: if the previous tenant's rent was higher, it may be agreed again. Reductions and increases from the last year before the end of the previous tenancy do not count (§ 556e (1) BGB).
- Modernisation in the last 3 years: the limit may be exceeded by the amount that would be permitted for a modernisation increase (§ 556e (2) BGB).
- New build: flats first used and let after 1 Oct 2014 are exempt (§ 556f sentence 1 BGB).
- Comprehensive modernisation: the first letting afterwards is exempt (§ 556f sentence 2 BGB).
Anyone relying on an exemption must inform the tenant about it in text form, unprompted, before the lease is signed (§ 556g (1a) BGB). Otherwise the exemption does not apply. If the information is provided later, it only applies 2 years afterwards.
Consequences of a rent that is too high
If the agreed rent is above the limit, it is invalid only to that extent. The lease remains in place and the rent applies at the permitted level (§ 556g (1) BGB).
The tenant has to complain about the excessive rent. If the tenant complains within 30 months after the start of the lease and the tenancy still exists when the complaint is received, they can reclaim excess rent from the start of the lease. If they complain later, they can only reclaim from the complaint onwards (§ 556g (2) BGB).
Graduated rent, index-linked rent and furnished flats
- Graduated rent: the rent brake applies to each individual step (§ 557a (4) BGB).
- Index-linked rent: the rent brake applies to the initial rent (§ 557b (4) BGB).
- Furnished flats: a furnishing surcharge is currently not regulated by law. A draft bill provides that it must be shown separately. It has not been passed yet.
Limits even without a rent brake
Even where no rent brake applies, the rent is not unlimited. If it is more than 20% above the local comparative rent and the landlord exploits a short supply of flats, this can be an administrative offence (§ 5 Economic Offences Act, WiStG). Rent usury is a criminal offence (§ 291 StGB).