The coalition parties have reached agreement on two important points of contention. The rent cap is to be extended until 2029. In return, there is a compromise on the new regulation of data retention.
After a long dispute, the traffic light parties have reached an agreement on two issues that have nothing to do with each other in terms of content, but which have been linked at a political level.
The rent control for new and re-lettings in tense housing markets is to be extended until 2029. Justice Minister Marco Buschmann announced a corresponding draft law. The rule means that when a rental agreement is concluded, the rent may not be more than ten percent above the local comparative rent. Originally, the rent cap, which has been in effect for nine years, would have expired at the end of next year.
Further improvements required for tenants
The Greens and the SPD welcomed the extension of the rent cap. For tenants, it is “very good news that the coalition partners have now given up their mutual blockade,” said Green Party parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge. Your group now expects that the other measures agreed in the coalition agreement will also be “addressed quickly”.
The parliamentary director of the SPD, Katja Mast, also referred to agreements on the composition of the rent index and on non-profit housing. These are central issues that the coalition still has to get right.
Tenancy law with Data storage connected
Buschmann had long opposed the project that had already been agreed in the coalition agreement with the SPD and the Greens. The FDP politician has now given up his resistance because the coalition had previously reached an agreement on the storage of communications data for criminal prosecution using the “quick freeze” procedure.
This means that, for example, IP addresses or telephone numbers may only be frozen – i.e. saved – if a court decision has been made and only if there is suspicion of a serious crime, such as murder or manslaughter. If it becomes apparent during the course of the investigation that the data is actually relevant to the proceedings, the investigators are allowed to access it.
Police union for storage without reason
From the perspective of Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser from the SPD, this is not enough. She recently advocated for a new, legally compliant regulation for the storage of telecommunications traffic and location data without any reason. The old regulation on data retention was declared unlawful by the European Court of Justice, among others, and is currently suspended.
The police union (GdP) criticized the regulation now found as insufficient. “In police work, we lack data retention for no reason,” said GdP boss Jochen Kopelke to the Germany editorial network. “Such an agreement would have been a decisive breakthrough and advance in the fight against crime.” The latest crime statistics show a significant increase in crimes in Germany. “More staff, data retention and money are therefore needed,” said Kopelke.
A vote in the cabinet is expected soon
Two drafts are now to be written relatively soon in the Federal Ministry of Justice: A draft for data storage, which will then be slightly different than the draft that he presented in October 2022 and which was met with great criticism in the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
Since the rent cap is basically an existing regulation that is to be extended, it can be assumed that Buschmann will soon send this draft to the other federal government departments for coordination. Although the two projects have nothing to do with one another, it is likely that they will be approved by the cabinet on the same day.
Dietrich Karl Mäurer, ARD Berlin, tagesschau, April 10, 2024 3:00 p.m
With information from Dietrich Karl Mäurer, ARD capital studio