Berlin rent index 2026: your reference rent in a minute
Location from the street directory, year completed and floor area are enough; refine the fittings below if you like.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Maximum rent at the start of the tenancy
€453.53
€366.47 too much per month
| Local reference rent | €6.65/m² |
| Reference rent for your floor area | €412.30 |
| Range in the rent index | 5.77–8.74 €/m² |
| Rent brake | applies until 31 December 2029 |
| Increase cap | 15 % in three years |
| Limit: reference rent + 10% | €453.53 |
You can only reclaim after a written complaint. If it arrives within 30 months of the start and the tenancy is still running, it reaches back to the start (Section 556g(2) BGB).
How we calculateBerlin's 2026 rent index (Berliner Mietspiegel) has applied since 28 May 2026 and reflects rents as of 1 September 2025. It is a qualified index under Section 558d of the Civil Code, produced by the Senate Department for Urban Development, Building and Housing and recognised by tenant and landlord associations. Three features decide a flat's field in the table: the residential location (basic, average or good) from the street directory, the year the flat was completed and its floor area. The starting point is the field's mean; the official guidance (Orientierungshilfe) moves it towards the lower or upper end depending on the fittings. A 1965 flat of 62 m² comes to €6.35 per square metre in a basic location, €6.65 in an average one and €7.56 in a good one. Across Berlin, the rent brake applies until 31 December 2029 and the 15 per cent increase cap until 10 May 2028.
How the calculator reads the Berlin index
The Berlin index is a table index. Each residential location has a table, and each table has several floor-area bands per age band, with the bottom of the range, the mean and the top of the range: 189 lines in all. The calculator takes the field your details fall into and shows its line number, so you can look the value up in the Senate department brochure. It shows only that one field, never the whole table.
The values apply to fully equipped flats with central heating, a bathroom and an indoor toilet. For flats completed up to 1949 without central heating or a bathroom, the index allows a deduction of €0.33 per square metre. The guidance places the flat within the range using five groups: bathroom and toilet, kitchen, flat, building and surroundings. In each group a simple majority of the better or worse features decides, and the groups offset one another.
Three locations, one year
| Location | Line | Range per m² | Mean per m² |
|---|---|---|---|
| basic | 26 | 5.54 to 7.55 € | €6.35 |
| average | 89 | 5.77 to 8.74 € | €6.65 |
| good | 153 | 6.07 to 10.92 € | €7.56 |
What the figure means for you
For a new lease, Berlin's rent brake applies: at most the reference rent plus ten per cent. For the 1965 flat in an average location that is €453.53 a month; at €700 rent, €246.47 would be too much. For a rent increase, the new rent may not exceed the reference rent nor rise more than 15 per cent above the rent three years earlier, because Berlin has lowered the increase cap. A landlord who bases an increase on something else must still quote the qualified index (Section 558a(3) BGB).