As is well known, due to the housing shortage in Berlin, rent increases are legally restricted. With the exception of newly built properties, rent may not exceed the local average (Örtlicher Mietspiegel, OVM, “local rent index”) by more than 10%.

Exceeding this threshold by 20% or more results in administrative liability, while overpricing by more than 50% is classified as “criminally punishable rent gouging.”

Since the beginning of summer, Berlin residents who believe that their rent is excessive have had a convenient opportunity to submit a corresponding complaint online. This is done through the administrative authority of their district (Bezirksamt). In essence, this constitutes an additional instrument for protecting tenants’ rights. The option to submit an application is available on the official Berlin city services portal: offizielles Service-Portal Berlin.

Specifically: https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/355534

Digital analysis can now quickly identify suspected cases of violations of the requirements of § 291 of the Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch, StGB, the provision on “rent gouging,” Mietwucher) or § 5 of the Act on Combating Economic Crime (Wirtschaftsstrafgesetz, WiStG). To ensure legal certainty and fairness in the housing market, the relevant bodies of the federal state of Berlin have been established to verify compliance with these statutory provisions. The analysis is based on Berlin’s current rent index for 2026.

In June alone, 7,757 complaints from citizens were registered on this issue. After duplicate submissions and cases to which the rent-control provisions did not apply had been excluded, 4,539 applications were analyzed. Of these, 2,102 cases (or 46%) gave rise to a clear suspicion of violations of the regulations limiting rent levels. In some cases (around 10%), the issue concerns only unintentional overcharging or speculative rent, since there are exclusion criteria with regard to measures limiting rent increases (for example, a “newly built property”).

As part of Berlin’s current “Mietenscan” program, the organization “Sicheres Wohnen Anstalt öffentlichen Rechts” (a Berlin state institution established to protect tenants’ rights and promote their participation in the management of the housing stock) has begun sending corresponding official inquiries to specific landlords regarding the verification of the rents they have set.  

This also gives them the opportunity to promptly adjust the rent if the statutory limit has been exceeded, without taking the matter as far as fines or the initiation of criminal proceedings. It should be noted that “Sicheres Wohnen Anstalt öffentlichen Rechts” operates on the basis of clearly defined powers in this area granted by the Berlin authorities.  

The monitoring and analysis of “rental rates,” which will initially be conducted on a monthly basis, are intended as a preventive measure to draw landlords’ attention to possible violations of the applicable legislation. They are also intended to help people seeking housing find affordable apartments and prevent abuses associated with the shortage of “living space for dignified residence.”