It’s bad news for tenants across Germany as experts predict the cost of renting will continue to climb next year – and not only in big cities."I don't yet see a trend reversal," association chief Lukas Siebenkotten said. In 2020, local comparative rents in Germany could increase by an average of 2.5 to 3.5 percent, he said.
"There may be a slowdown in some cities, but as long as there are people who pay the increasing rents, they will continue to rise."
Siebenkotten said intervention from politicians was needed – similar to what's happened in Berlin where the local government has opted to introduce a rent freeze for five years.
Recently, we told how a massive 1,749 flat-hunters queued outside to visit a vacant Berlin apartment 12 hours after it was advertised online, a sign of the city's problematic housing situation.
"It would be helpful if the federal government would legally limit the increase in rents to the inflation rate over five years," said Siebenkotten.
How can Germany tackle housing crisis?
However, experts say it's not just about rental caps – there also needs to be more affordable housing available.
"The federal, state and local governments must spend significantly more money on affordable housing in order to build at least 100,000 subsidized apartments annually," Stefan Körzell, board member of the German Federation of Trade Unions, said.
The grand coalition missed its target of providing 375,000 new housing units per year: only around 287,000 were built in 2018.
At the same time, more and more people are moving to Germany – above all to Leipzig, Frankfurt and Berlin, the Federal Statistical Office said recently. This is driving rents up, while in remote regions there are lots of empty flats.
According to the Hamburg Gewos Institute for Urban, Regional and Housing Research, the rise in rents continued in the third quarter, albeit at a slower pace. New contract rents across Germany increased on average to €7.29 per square metre (cold - without added costs) – 3.7 percent more than in the same period last year.
The cost of renting grew particularly strongly in the seven largest cities Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf. Rents increased by around 5.2 per cent to €12,42 (cold) per square meter.