Raising the rent to the local reference rent

When an increase is possible

The landlord can ask for consent to an increase up to the local reference rent if the rent has been unchanged for 15 months at the time the increase takes effect. The request may be made no earlier than one year after the last increase (§ 558 BGB). Increases due to modernisation or higher operating costs are disregarded for these periods.

The cap

Within three years the rent may rise by no more than 20 per cent. In areas with a tight housing market, designated by the federal state by ordinance, the limit is 15 per cent. This applies, for example, to all of Hamburg and, since May 2024, to numerous municipalities in Schleswig-Holstein, including Ahrensburg. Increases due to modernisation or higher operating costs do not count towards it.

Form and justification

The request requires text form and a justification. Permitted are:

• the rent index (Mietspiegel) of the municipality or a comparable municipality
• information from a rent database
• the report of a publicly appointed and sworn expert
• at least three comparable apartments

Where a qualified rent index exists, the request must state its values even if it relies on a different means of justification.

Consent and effect

The tenant has until the end of the second calendar month after receipt to consent. The higher rent is then owed from the third calendar month. If the tenant does not consent, the landlord may sue for consent within a further three months. Stepped and index-linked rents follow their own rules; an increase under § 558 BGB is excluded there.