Modernisation increase: how much more rent after the works?
Enter the costs from the landlord’s notice; the calculator deducts repairs and grants and applies the cap.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Permitted increase per month
€100
New rent €800
| Costs that can be passed on | €15,000 |
| Repair deduction | €3,000 |
| 8 % per year | €1,200 |
| Per month before the cap | €100 |
| Six-year cap | €3.00/m² |
The increase is due from the start of the third month after the notice arrives (Section 559b(2) BGB).
How we calculateAfter a modernisation a German landlord may raise the annual rent by 8 per cent of the costs spent on your flat (Section 559 of the Civil Code). Costs that would have been needed for repairs anyway are excluded, and so are public grants. Within six years, modernisations may raise the rent by at most €3 per square metre, or €2 if the rent was below €7 per square metre. Example: €18,000 of costs for your flat, of which €3,000 saved repairs, give €1,200.00 a year, so €100.00 more a month; the rent rises from €700 to €800.00. For costs up to €10,000 the landlord may choose the simplified procedure with a flat 30 per cent repair deduction. For a subsidised new heating system, ten per cent and at most €0.50 per square metre apply (Section 559e). The higher rent is due from the start of the third month after the notice arrives.
The calculation step by step
The calculator follows Section 559 BGB. From the costs attributed to your flat it deducts the saved repair costs and any third-party funds. It applies eight per cent a year to the rest and divides by twelve. Then it checks the cap in subsection 3a: at most €3 per square metre over six years, €2 if the rent was below €7 before. If you already had a modernisation increase in the last six years, enter it in the last field; it counts towards the cap.
| Case | Basis | per month | new rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| standard: €18,000 minus €3,000 repairs | €15,000 | €100.00 | €800.00 |
| expensive: €45,000 minus €5,000, cap €3/m² | €40,000 | €210.00 | €910.00 |
| same works, rent before €6/m² | €40,000 | €140.00 | €560.00 |
| simplified: €9,000, 30% flat deduction | €6,300 | €42.00 | €742.00 |
| heating, Section 559e: €24,000 minus €7,000 subsidy | €13,400 | €35.00 | €735.00 |
When the increase applies
The notice must be in text form and must calculate and explain the increase from the costs incurred (Section 559b BGB). Payment starts at the beginning of the third month after receipt. That date moves back by six months if the works were not properly announced or the actual increase exceeds the announced one by more than ten per cent. What the announcement must contain and how to raise a hardship objection is on the modernisation notice page. An increase up to the reference rent under Section 558 remains possible alongside; modernisation increases do not count towards its increase cap.