Paying too much rent? Where Germany's rent brake applies, and how to use it.

Germany's rent brake is a federal law, but it only applies where a state has switched it on, and only for as long as the state's ordinance runs. Two flats with the same rent, one in Leipzig and one in Magdeburg, can be in completely different legal positions. This page shows where the rent brake applies, how it works, and what it takes to get money back.

1. The rule in one sentence

In an area a state has designated, the rent agreed at the start of a tenancy may not be more than 10% above the local comparative rent (ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete), which is normally read off the local Mietspiegel (§ 556d BGB).

It governs the rent you sign up to. Increases during a tenancy fall under different rules, covered in our guide to rent increases. The federal law allows states to keep their ordinances in force until 31 December 2029 at the latest.

2. Where it applies: state by state

Each state decides which municipalities are covered and for how long. The position as of September 2026:

Coverage goes municipality by municipality, and lists change when ordinances are renewed. Bavaria added 100 places and dropped 23 in 2026. Check your own town in the current ordinance, not a list from a few years ago. The coverage has to be valid on the date you signed, not today.

Ordinances can also fail in court. Hesse's first rent brake ordinance, from 2015, was void because the state never published its reasons. Tenants who relied on it could not reclaim anything. Hesse's current extension faces a similar challenge, so a lawyer's check is worth more there than anywhere else.

3. The exceptions landlords rely on

A rent above the 10% line can still be lawful if one of these applies:

• The previous tenant already paid more. The landlord may keep that earlier rent.
• New build. The flat was first used and let after 1 October 2014. The test is when the flat was first used and let, not when the building was finished.
• Comprehensive modernisation. The first letting after a renovation so extensive that it is comparable to a new build.
• Recent modernisation. Ordinary modernisation in the three years before the tenancy can justify a higher rent up to a limit.

Furnished flats are a frequent grey area. The rent brake applies to them too, but landlords often put a large, unexplained surcharge on the furniture. A federal reform bill would require the furniture surcharge to be shown separately. It had not passed by September 2026.

4. What the landlord must tell you before you sign

A landlord relying on one of the exceptions must tell you before you sign, in text form, which one it is. For the previous-rent exception that means stating the previous rent (§ 556g(1a) BGB).

If the landlord did not, they cannot rely on that exception. If they tell you later, they can only rely on it two years after doing so. The pre-contract paperwork is therefore often the most important document, so find it before anything else.

5. Getting money back: the Rüge and the 30 months

An excessive rent is not corrected automatically. You have to send the landlord a complaint (Rüge) in text form. A letter or an email both qualify, a phone call does not. Only then can you reclaim the excess.

How far back you can reclaim depends on timing. For tenancies signed since April 2020:

• If the Rüge reaches the landlord within 30 months of the tenancy's start, and the tenancy has not ended by then, you can reclaim the excess back to the beginning.
• If it arrives later, or after you have moved out, you can only reclaim rent that fell due after the Rüge.

Tenants lose money by waiting. A Rüge in month 29 recovers the whole overpayment, and one in month 31 recovers none of what came before. Whether your rent actually breaches the cap depends on the Mietspiegel classification, the exceptions and whether the ordinance is valid. Have that checked before, or at least while, you send the Rüge, because a Rüge that names the wrong figures helps no one.

Sending a Rüge is not grounds for termination. The tenancy continues on its existing terms, at the lawful rent.

6. Two related limits that are also local

• The 15% increase cap (Kappungsgrenze). During a tenancy, rent can normally rise by up to 20% in three years. Most states cut that to 15% in the same tight markets, and Schleswig-Holstein does so even without a rent brake. Saarland and Saxony-Anhalt keep 20% everywhere.
• Protection after conversion (§ 577a BGB). After a rented flat is converted into a condominium and sold, the buyer normally cannot give notice for their own use for three years. Some states extend that period for their tight markets: ten years in Berlin, Hamburg and Bavaria's listed municipalities, eight years in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, and five in Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemberg.

Separately, a rent more than 20% above the local comparative rent can be an administrative offence for the landlord (§ 5 Wirtschaftsstrafgesetz), anywhere in Germany. Some cities, such as Frankfurt and Munich, actively pursue it.

7. What may change

A federal tenancy reform bill was before the Bundestag in September 2026. Among other things, it would limit index-linked rent rises in tight markets, require furnished surcharges to be shown separately, and exempt short leases of up to six months from the rent brake. None of it is law yet, and the bill may change before it passes. This page will be updated if it does.

8. What to do this week

State coverage checked September 2026. Ordinances expire and are renewed, so check the current list for your town before relying on it.