The rent brake in Rhineland-Palatinate: two different lists
In Rhineland-Palatinate the rent-brake and cap areas do not match; the rent check tests each separately.
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Maximum rent at the start of the tenancy
no cap
The municipality is in no ordinance on this date.
| Local reference rent | €11.00/m² |
| Reference rent for your floor area | €682 |
| Rent brake | does not apply here |
| Increase cap | 20 % in three years |
Without the rent brake, Sections 556d ff. BGB set no limit at signing. Later increases still follow Section 558 BGB, with the reference rent and the cap.
How we calculateRhineland-Palatinate has two ordinances with different areas for the rent brake (Mietpreisbremse) and the increase cap. The rent ordinance of September 2025 has applied since 8 October 2025 and runs until 31 December 2029; it names the independent cities of Landau, Ludwigshafen, Mainz, Speyer and Worms plus all municipalities in the Alzey-Worms district and the Rhein-Pfalz district, 99 municipalities in all. The 2024 cap ordinance runs until 30 September 2029 and is narrower: Landau, Ludwigshafen, Mainz, Speyer and the Rhein-Pfalz district, 29 municipalities. So in Worms and the Alzey-Worms district the rent brake applies at signing, but the normal 20 per cent limit applies to increases. Trier is in neither ordinance. Take Mainz: with an assumed reference rent of €11.00 for 65 m², a new lease may cost at most €786.50 a month before service charges, and an increase from €608 is capped at €699.20.
Two ordinances, two areas
The Rhineland-Palatinate rent ordinance (GVBl. 2025 No. 18 p. 538) rests on Section 556d(2) of the Civil Code, the cap ordinance (GVBl. 2024 No. 21 p. 331) on Section 558(3). The two ordinances were adopted at different times with their own reasons, and their areas differ. For tenants the consequence matters: whether a ceiling applies at signing and whether an increase is capped at 15 or 20 per cent must be checked separately. The rent check does so once you enter your municipality.
| Area | Rent brake | 15% cap |
|---|---|---|
| Mainz, Ludwigshafen, Landau, Speyer | yes | yes |
| Worms | yes | no, 20% |
| Rhein-Pfalz district | yes | yes |
| Alzey-Worms district | yes | no, 20% |
| Trier, Koblenz, Kaiserslautern and all others | no | no, 20% |
Every municipality with the rent brake
| District | Count | Municipalities |
|---|---|---|
| independent cities | 5 | Landau in der Pfalz, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Mainz, Speyer, Worms |
| Landkreis Alzey-Worms | 69 | Albig, Alsheim, Alzey, Armsheim, Bechenheim, Bechtheim, Bechtolsheim, Bermersheim, Bermersheim vor der Höhe, Biebelnheim, Bornheim, Dintesheim, Dittelsheim-Heßloch, Eckelsheim, Eich, Ensheim, Eppelsheim, Erbes-Büdesheim, Esselborn, Flomborn, Flonheim, Flörsheim-Dalsheim, Framersheim, Freimersheim, Frettenheim, Gabsheim, Gau-Bickelheim, Gau-Heppenheim, Gau-Odernheim, Gau-Weinheim, Gimbsheim, Gumbsheim, Gundersheim, Gundheim, Hamm am Rhein, Hangen-Weisheim, Hochborn, Hohen-Sülzen, Kettenheim, Lonsheim, Mauchenheim, Mettenheim, Mölsheim, Monsheim, Monzernheim, Mörstadt, Nack, Nieder-Wiesen, Ober-Flörsheim, Offenheim, Offstein, Osthofen, Partenheim, Saulheim, Schornsheim, Siefersheim, Spiesheim, Stein-Bockenheim, Sulzheim, Udenheim, Vendersheim, Wachenheim, Wahlheim, Wallertheim, Wendelsheim, Westhofen, Wöllstein, Wonsheim, Wörrstadt |
| Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis | 25 | Altrip, Beindersheim, Birkenheide, Bobenheim-Roxheim, Böhl-Iggelheim, Dannstadt-Schauernheim, Dudenhofen, Fußgönheim, Großniedesheim, Hanhofen, Harthausen, Heßheim, Heuchelheim bei Frankenthal, Hochdorf-Assenheim, Kleinniedesheim, Lambsheim, Limburgerhof, Maxdorf, Mutterstadt, Neuhofen, Otterstadt, Rödersheim-Gronau, Römerberg, Schifferstadt, Waldsee |