The German rent brake: rules, areas and exemptions
The rent brake only limits the rent at the start of a lease, and only where a state has imposed it.
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Rent brake: your ceiling
Maximum per month
€660
| Too much per month | €120 |
| Too much per year | €1,440 |
| Ceiling per m² | €11.00/m² |
Germany's rent brake (Mietpreisbremse) is set out in Sections 556d to 556g of the Civil Code (BGB). If you sign a residential lease in an area with a tight housing market, the starting rent may be at most the local reference rent (ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete) plus 10 per cent. Which areas these are is decided by the state governments by ordinance, and every ordinance must end by 31 December 2029 at the latest. In October 2026, 13 of the 16 states have such an ordinance, covering 729 municipalities in total. Saarland, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein have none. The ceiling has four exemptions: a higher previous rent, modernisation in the last three years, the first letting of a flat first used after 1 October 2014, and the first letting after a full modernisation. With a reference rent of €10 and 70 m² the ceiling is €770.00; if you agree €850, you overpay €80.00 and can reclaim it after a complaint. The rent brake does not govern later increases; the increase cap does.
How the ceiling is calculated
The starting point is the flat's local reference rent, determined under Section 558(2) of the Civil Code, usually from the municipality's rent index (Mietspiegel). Ten per cent on top gives the ceiling for the net cold rent (Nettokaltmiete). Service charges do not count. If an all-inclusive rent was agreed, the service charges in it must be taken out. What counts is the start of the lease: if the reference rent rises later, an excessive starting rent does not become lawful after the event.
| Case | Monthly ceiling | With €850 agreed |
|---|---|---|
| reference rent €10/m², 70 m², no exemption | €770.00 | €80.00 too much |
| same, previous rent €820 | €820.00 | €30.00 too much |
| same, modernisation premium €45 | €815.00 | €35.00 too much |
| first let after 1 October 2014 | no ceiling | lawful |
Where the rent brake applies
Whether your flat is covered is not in the Civil Code but in your state's ordinance. Section 556d(2) BGB empowers state governments to designate areas with a tight housing market and lists as signs sharply rising rents, a high rent burden on households, a growing population without matching new building, and low vacancy. The ordinance must give reasons and may not run beyond the end of 2029. If it covers only parts of a municipality, the district matters.
| State | Municipalities | applies until |
|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | 130 | 31 December 2026 |
| Bayern | 284 | 31 December 2029 |
| Berlin | 1 | 31 December 2029 |
| Brandenburg | 36 | 31 December 2029 |
| Bremen | 1 | 31 December 2029 |
| Hamburg | 1 | 31 December 2029 |
| Hessen | 49 | 25 November 2026 |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 10 | 31 December 2029 |
| Niedersachsen | 57 | 31 December 2029 |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | 57 | 31 December 2029 |
| Rheinland-Pfalz | 99 | 31 December 2029 |
| Sachsen | 2 | 30 June 2027 |
| Thüringen | 2 | 31 December 2027 |
For Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen, where the ordinance covers the whole city, the rent index pages explain the details. Where no ordinance applies, the starting rent can be agreed freely; limits then come only from general law, such as the ban on excessive rents, and later from the reference rent on every increase.
The four exemptions
Previous rent. If the previous tenant's rent was above the ceiling, it may still be charged (Section 556e(1)). Increases agreed in the last year of the old lease do not count, so landlords cannot defeat the brake just before a change of tenant. A rent reduction of the previous tenant is also disregarded.
Modernisation in the last three years. If the flat was modernised before the lease began, the ceiling may be exceeded by the amount a modernisation increase under Section 559 would have produced, calculated on the reference rent without the modernisation (Section 556e(2)). The modernisation calculator shows how large such an amount is.
New builds. Flats first used and let after 1 October 2014 are exempt altogether (Section 556f, first sentence). This covers every later letting of the same flat too, not just the first.
Full modernisation. The first letting after a full modernisation is exempt (Section 556f, second sentence). At the next letting the brake applies again.
The landlord's duty to disclose
The landlord can only rely on any of these exemptions if he told you, unprompted and in text form, before you made your declaration (Section 556g(1a) BGB): the amount of the previous rent, the fact of a modernisation, a first use after 1 October 2014, or the full modernisation. Without that information the normal ceiling applies. If he discloses later, he can only rely on it two years afterwards. Independently of that, you may ask at any time for the facts that determine the rent, as far as they are not publicly accessible.
Reclaiming overpaid rent
A refund requires a complaint (Rüge) in text form, so an e-mail will do, and it must refer to any disclosure the landlord gave. If it arrives within 30 months of the start and the tenancy is still running, you recover everything overpaid since the start. Later, or after moving out, only the rent falling due after the complaint. Details and a calculator are on the complaint page.
Graduated and index-linked rents
With a graduated rent the brake applies to each step, measured against the reference rent when the step falls due. With an index-linked rent it applies only to the starting rent; later adjustments follow the consumer price index. To check whether a starting rent was lawful, use the rent brake calculator.