[ksec]

Slightly Off Topic:

I thought Germany has some form of protection by law so rent and property market don't get to hike the prices to whatever they want. So while the world 's property market is on fire by QE, Berlin hasn't moved a needle at all.

So why has rent risen so much?

[taejo]

Germany has fairly strong protection against rent increases for existing tenants: during a tenancy the rent can only increase up to the "ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete" (average rent of comparable properties in the same town), and by a maximum of 15%/20% (depending on location, 15% in Berlin) over three years.

In Berlin and many other cities there's also rent stabilization ("Mietpreisbremse") for new tenants: new leases on old properties may not exceed the maximum of 110% of the "ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete" and the previous tenant's rent. This falls away if the property is substantially renovated.

Renovations can stop both of these from working: in the former case by increasing the value of the apartment so that the set of "comparable properties" is much more expensive, possibly forcing the current tenant out so a new, wealthier tenant can be found to negotiate a new contract; in the second case, the control falls away completely if the value of renovations in the last five (?) years is at least a third of the total value.

The Mietpreisbremse is widely ignored: advertised rents exceed the limit for more often than not, and the landlords choose tenants they think are least likely to sue over it. The worst case for the landlord is that they have to pay back the difference from the point where the tenant complained; the best case is that the Federal Constitutional Court invalidates the law (which is fairly new and not yet judicially tested).

[scalesolved]

This is something that Spain also has (and is being phased out). I live in Barcelona, I pay 1000 euros for my two bed apartment, every 3 years the rent has to be renegotiated. My lovely neighbour who is 92 pays under 100 euros for the exact same flat opposite mine, she is on guaranteed rent protection, my neighbours below who are in their early 70s pay around 250 for the same flat.

The fact rent protection is being phased out makes me really sad, speculation will become even more rife (I can understand that extreme rent protection like above may not be workable but something in between is needed imo).

[passiveincomelg]

They always find some loophole. Often it's some kind of construction work like "improving isolation". AFAIK the rent control laws also don't apply for furnished flats.

[stiGGG]

It's mainly because the rents in Berlin had been comparatively extremely low in average. What happened in the last 5-10 years is more or less an adjustment to other cities in Germany e.g. Hamburg or Munich. But it is a big problem, the typical young IT worker can afford it, but the wages of "normal" workers didn't rise much, so gentrification happened like crazy in all central districts.

[Isn0gud]

It has risen for newer rentals. If I remember correctly, you can increase the rent max 3% per year for an ongoing contract and 10% in a new rental contract.

[adulakis]

City has failed to provide enough housing for incoming people. There is for example an old unused airport (Tempelhof) standing empy at prime location.

[m_fayer]

It's not empty. It's an enormous, unique, and beloved park that is starting to become as major an icon of Berlin as the Fernsehturm.