Landlord's request for consent to a rent increase (Germany)
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This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
The letter a landlord in Germany uses to ask the tenant to consent to a rent increase up to the local comparative rent under § 558 of the German Civil Code (BGB) — the landlord cannot raise the rent unilaterally. It states the old and new net rent, justifies the increase with the local rent index, a rent database, an expert opinion or three comparable flats (§ 558a BGB), gives the figures of a qualified rent index, respects the 20 or 15 per cent cap and the 15-month wait, and sets the deadline for consent; a consent form for the tenant to sign is attached. Text form is enough. In German.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Landlord
- Landlord's address
- Tenant
- Street and house number of the flat
- Postcode and town of the flat
- City
- Date
- Where the flat is in the building (e.g. 2nd floor left, flat 7)
- Date of the contract
- Who asks for consent: the only landlord, or all landlords together (where there are several, all of them)
- Increased rent from (start of the third calendar month after receipt)
- Area
- Previous rent
- New rent
- Rent unchanged since (not counting increases for modernisation or service charges)
- Basis of the increase: rent index, rent database, expert opinion or three comparable flats
- Details of the justification (rent-index category and range, expert opinion, or three comparable flats with address and rent per m²)
- Figures of a qualified rent index for the flat (or “no qualified rent index”)
- Cap within three years: 20 per cent, or 15 per cent where a state ordinance applies
- Deadline for consent (end of the second calendar month after receipt)
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Does a tenant in Germany have to agree to a rent increase?
- Only if the conditions of § 558 BGB are met: the new rent does not exceed the local comparative rent, the rent will have been unchanged for 15 months when the increase takes effect, and the cap is respected. The tenant then owes consent, and has until the end of the second calendar month after receipt to give it. Consent needs no form; paying the new rent can count as consent. Without consent, the landlord may sue for it within a further three months (§ 558b BGB).
- How must a rent increase in Germany be justified?
- In text form and with reasons (§ 558a BGB): the municipality's rent index (Mietspiegel), information from a rent database, the opinion of a publicly appointed and sworn expert, or the rents of three comparable flats. If a qualified rent index has figures for the flat, the request must state them even when it relies on something else. Since the Rent Index Reform Act, municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants must have a rent index.
- By how much may the rent rise at most in Germany?
- Up to the local comparative rent, and by no more than 20 per cent within three years; where the state government has designated an area by ordinance, by no more than 15 per cent (§ 558(3) BGB). Increases for modernisation or higher service charges do not count. Such ordinances apply, for example, throughout Berlin and Hamburg and in many municipalities in Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia; they are time-limited and change, so the document asks which cap applies to the municipality.
- When is a rent increase under § 558 BGB ruled out in Germany?
- During an agreed stepped rent (§ 557a BGB), and alongside an index-linked rent (§ 557b(2) BGB). It is also too early until a year after the last increase, because the rent must have been unchanged for 15 months when the increase takes effect. Instead of consenting, the tenant may give notice: until the end of the second month after receipt, to the end of the month after next; the increase then does not take effect (§ 561 BGB).
- Is an e-mail enough for a rent increase request in Germany?
- Yes. The request needs only text form (§ 558a(1) BGB): a legible declaration on a durable medium naming the person making it — a letter, a fax, or an e-mail with this letter as a PDF. A handwritten signature is not needed, though it does no harm. Where there are several landlords or tenants, name them all: the request must come from every landlord and be addressed to every tenant. Because the deadlines run from receipt, be able to prove it, for example with a written acknowledgement.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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