© dpa
The Mietpreisbremse (rent freeze) for Berlin will be extended until the end of the year. The previous regulation would otherwise no longer have been in force from the beginning of June.
The Senate has passed a resolution to this effect, as the Senator for Urban Development Christian Gaebler (SPD) subsequently announced.
The purpose of the rent freeze is to limit the increase in rents in areas with tight housing markets. Landlords in these areas are generally not allowed to raise rents for new tenancies by more than ten percent above the local comparative rent. As a result of the extension of the "Ordinance on the permissible rent level at the start of a tenancy", the whole of Berlin will continue to be defined as an area with a tight housing market in which the regulations on rent control must be observed. Gaebler called the decision an important signal for tenants.
However, the extension only applies until the end of 2025 - the framework legislation in the German Civil Code also applies until then. "We will of course see what is now implemented at federal level from the coalition agreements," said Gaebler. There are plans to extend the rent freeze by four years. If this is implemented, the rent level for re-letting will remain limited in the coming years. "We will then follow this up accordingly and make full use of the period," said the SPD politician.