Cologne rent index: a simple index and strict limits
Cologne has no qualified rent index; the rent brake and the 15 per cent cap still apply.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Maximum rent at the start of the tenancy
€750.20
€69.80 too much per month
| Local reference rent | €11.00/m² |
| Reference rent for your floor area | €682 |
| Rent brake | applies until 31 December 2029 |
| Increase cap | 15 % in three years |
| Limit: reference rent + 10% | €750.20 |
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 calculateCologne's 2025 rent index (Kölner Mietspiegel) is the 26th edition of a simple index drawn up by a working group of the tenants' association, the homeowners' association, the City of Cologne, the valuation committee and other bodies, and published by the Rhineland property exchange (Rheinische Immobilienbörse) at the chamber of commerce. It does not rest on a scientific survey within the meaning of Section 558d of the Civil Code, so it lacks the legal presumption a qualified index carries; it still serves to justify a rent increase and as guidance. It is a table index by age, location, size and fittings. The publisher only allows online reproduction with its consent, so this calculator shows no Cologne figures. You look the value up in the free download and enter it. Cologne is in North Rhine-Westphalia's tenant-protection ordinance: rent brake until 31 December 2029, 15 per cent cap until 28 February 2030.
Who makes the Cologne index
Unlike Berlin or Munich, the city is not the publisher in Cologne. The index is compiled at the Rhineland property exchange, a body at the Cologne chamber of commerce, by a working group of tenant and landlord representatives, the city, the valuation committee and estate agents' associations. It does not rest on a representative survey carried out to scientific standards. The law expressly allows such indexes: under Section 558c of the Civil Code it is enough for tenant and landlord representatives to draw one up or recognise it jointly.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Edition | Mietspiegel für frei finanzierte Wohnungen in Köln 2025 (26. Auflage) |
| Type | simple, Section 558c BGB |
| Valid from | see publisher |
| Valid until | not stated |
| Publisher | Rheinische Immobilienbörse e.V. |
| Figures on this site | none: rights are reserved |
| Rent brake | yes, until 31 December 2029 |
| Increase cap | 15 % until 28 February 2030 |
Calculating with your Cologne figure
Read the field for your flat's age, location, size and fittings in the property exchange rent index and enter a value within its range. For a new lease, the rent check works out the ceiling. For a rent increase it applies Cologne's cap: if you pay €744 now, you need agree to at most €855.60, even if the index value were €875. For a letter received on 14 October 2026, the consent period runs until 31 December 2026.
Cologne is one of the municipalities in the NRW tenant-protection ordinance; neighbouring Düsseldorf and Bonn are listed too. The qualified rent index page explains the difference between a simple and a qualified index.