The rent index now includes the past six instead of four years. The change took effect on January 1, 2020.

The “Law to Extend the Period of Consideration for Local Comparative Rent” was passed in December by the Bundestag and Bundesrat. The law is designed to intercept short-term fluctuations in the rental apartment market and slow the rise in rents. Up to the end of 2020, rent indexes can still be created on March 1, 2020 according to the old regulation.

Owners association criticizes regulation

The association “Haus und Grund” criticizes the change sharply and calls it “manipulation of the rent index”. The association fears that this intervention in the local comparative rent will significantly undermine the acceptance of rent levels among the four million private landlords. "This open manipulation of the rent index will noticeably impair the previous satisfactory function of the rent index in cities and municipalities," said Haus & Grund President Kai Warnecke. It is incomprehensible why the grand coalition is damaging a system that has worked well for decades.