Living in the big city is extremely expensive – many landlords charge higher prices than permitted. In order to help tenants get their rights, the city of Frankfurt am Main supports those affected.
Your first apartment: For many young people, it is an important step into adult life. But especially those who start training or studying in a major German city can hardly afford their own apartment. This is also the case for Manuel*: After school, he moved to Frankfurt am Main to live in a shared apartment for his training. Eleven square meters for 330 euros. The entire shared apartment paid 1,100 euros for 70 square meters – for an apartment that was actually in need of renovation.
Such rental prices in German cities are a bitter reality for students, trainees and low-income earners – if they can find an apartment at all. “Of course I thought the rent was too high,” reports Manuel. But: “I thought at the time, that’s normal in cities like Frankfurt am Main, luckily I found an apartment at all.”
Prices per square meter over 15 euros
In fact, rents in major German cities have been rising for years: while the price per square meter in Frankfurt am Main was still around 15.99 euros at the beginning of 2019, according to the real estate broker Engel and Völkers, by 2023 landlords were already asking around 19.59 euros per square meter. The development in Berlin is similar: in 2019 the square meter cost around 12.29 euros, in 2023 it was already 19.30 euros.
In metropolitan areas, high demand meets low supply: “We have had the situation for many years where apartments are becoming more and more expensive and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find an apartment,” says Rolf Jansen, managing director of the Tenants’ Protection Association Frankfurt am Main . This now affects not only people with low incomes, but also the middle class.
City of Frankfurt against excessive rents
It is generally known what would solve the problem of high rents in the long term: build. However, less and less is being built in Germany. According to the Federal Statistical Office, in the first eight months of the current year, the number of building permits for apartments fell by 28.3 percent within a year – a decrease of 69,100 to 175,500 apartments.
In 2021, the then newly elected federal government announced that it would build 400,000 apartments annually. However, construction minister Klara Geywitz admitted months ago that the traffic light coalition would miss this goal. An increasing supply that could reduce rental prices is therefore not in sight.
However, the city of Frankfurt does not want to stand idly by and watch as landlords continue to increase prices. “The city of Frankfurt offers support to tenants who pay too high a rent,” explains Tanja Pousche from the Housing Office. Specifically, this means that city employees are checking information about suspected overpriced rental prices. “Landlords who demand a rent that is 20 percent above the local comparable rent in Frankfurt are acting in violation of the regulations. And we are taking action against this,” explains Pousche. The basis for this is Article five of the Economic Crimes Act.
Calculation of the qualified rent index
Manuel came across exactly this offer from the city by chance and began to find out more. On the website of the city’s housing department, he was able to calculate whether the rent for his apartment was appropriate. The result: The rent that Manuel and his roommates paid was well above the local comparable rent.
So Manuel contacted the Housing Office and made an appointment for a consultation. About six months later, an expert from the city came who measured the apartment and took photos, especially of the floor, bathroom, kitchen and windows. This data was used to calculate the qualified rent index for the apartment.
The qualified rent index is created on the basis of extensive data. This data is used to determine the local comparative rents for the relevant apartment. The simple rent index is usually negotiated between the city, representatives of the landlord associations and representatives of the tenant associations. Since the qualified rent index is created scientifically, it is also established in court as an anticipated expert report.
Features observe
As a rule, tenants can hardly calculate the qualified rent index for their apartment themselves; However, they can easily check whether their rent is too high by looking at the rental agreement, explains tenant advocate Jansen from the tenant protection association in Frankfurt.
The landlord can charge surcharges for certain features: “A simple example can be found in the bathroom. If you have a standing toilet, i.e. an older model, the surcharge may not be charged,” explains the expert and mentions other features such as the kitchen equipment or the installed windows.
There is little effort for the tenant
In Manuel’s case, too, the qualified rent index was calculated in this way. He then had to appear in person at the housing office to give a witness statement; the city took care of the rest. This is extremely convenient for tenants like Manuel – he neither bears the costs of the procedure should it go to court nor does he have the time commitment that is normally associated with such a procedure. As the main tenant of the apartment, he only had to provide all the necessary documents such as the rental agreement and bank statements.
“If we find that tenants are affected by rents that are too high, we have various options for taking action against the landlords,” explains Tanja Pousche from the Housing Office. First, point out to the landlord that the rent demanded is too high – usually that is enough and an amicable agreement can be reached. “If the landlord doesn’t accept the rent increase, we can impose a fine,” says Pousche. If that’s not enough, the city will take the landlord to court.
12,000 euros repayment
The young man himself doesn’t know what measures the city had to take in Manuel’s case. A few weeks ago he was only informed that the proceedings against his former landlord had been successful. He and his roommates got around 12,000 euros back in overpaid rent – a success story that is unfortunately still rare enough.
Even though the city is now receiving more and more complaints, many tenants do not dare to take action against their landlords. The fear of consequences is too great, reports tenant advocate Jansen: “Unfortunately, we see again and again that landlords declare their own needs or make life so difficult for the tenant that they then voluntarily leave the apartment.” Manuel also only took action against his former landlord because he was already planning to move out at the time of the lawsuit.
*Name changed by the editors