As politicians, tenant groups and unions meet in Berlin for a housing summit on Thursday, a new survey shows overwhelming support for tougher action against landlords that charge excessive rents.
Germany’s housing crisis has become a familiar frustration for many renters. Whether you’re searching for a flat in Berlin, Munich or Hamburg, stories of overcrowded viewings, rising rents and endless property searches are commonplace.
Against that backdrop, a new survey released ahead of a housing summit in Berlin on Thursday found overwhelming support for tougher action against high rents and loopholes in Germany’s rental market.
The findings add pressure on the federal government as it considers new measures aimed at strengthening tenant protections.
But what exactly are renters calling for, and could it actually lead to change?
A majority support stronger intervention
The survey, conducted by polling company Forsa, questioned 1,014 tenants living in cities with more than 100,000 residents.
Perhaps the most striking finding was that support for stronger regulation extends far beyond those struggling with their own rent.
According to the survey, 64 percent of respondents described their rent as reasonable. But large majorities still supported measures designed to limit rent increases and tackle abuses in the housing market.
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The strongest support was for tougher penalties against so-called rent gouging. In total, 89 percent of respondents backed stricter sanctions where rents exceed the local comparative rent by more than 50 percent.
Three quarters supported tightening Germany’s rent brake, while almost two-thirds favoured a temporary freeze on rent increases.
The survey also found that younger tenants were significantly more likely to consider their rent too high compared with older renters, highlighting the growing pressure facing those trying to establish themselves in Germany’s cities.
Why has the survey appeared now?
The survey was commissioned by the German Tenants’ Association (DMB) and the German Trade Union Federation (DGB), not the organisers of Berlin’s housing summit, which also kicked off on Thursday by coincidence.
The summit is intended to bring together politicians, union representatives, housing experts and tenant advocates to discuss how Germany can make housing more affordable.
The organisers argue that the housing shortage has become one of Germany’s most pressing social and economic challenges. Rising rents, they say, are not only putting pressure on households but also making it harder for employers to attract workers to areas where housing is scarce.
That argument may resonate with many foreign residents, for whom finding affordable accommodation is often one of the biggest challenges of settling in Germany.
READ ALSO: Germany’s housing crunch is driving away skilled foreign workers
What is the government proposing?
The keynote speaker at the summit is Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), whose ministry is responsible for key areas of rental law.
Hubig has already submitted a draft bill aimed at strengthening tenant protections. According to reports, these would make it harder to circumvent existing rules through furnished apartments, short-term rentals and certain forms of index-linked rental contracts, where rents rise automatically with inflation.
The proposals broadly reflect concerns raised by tenant groups, which argue that existing rules contain too many loopholes and are too rarely enforced.
Why renters are losing patience
For many tenants, the frustration is not simply that rents are high. It’s that years of discussion about Germany’s housing crisis have yet to produce noticeable relief.
Recent figures suggest rents are still rising across much of the country, even if the pace differs from city to city. Hamburg has seen the sharpest rise among Germany’s largest cities this year, closely followed by Frankfurt.
Experts say several factors are keeping pressure on the market. High financing costs are making it difficult for many people to buy property, pushing more households into the rental sector. At the same time, the construction of new homes remains weak in many places, limiting the supply of available housing.
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The result is a familiar cycle: demand remains high, too few new flats are coming onto the market and rents continue to climb.
Against that backdrop, groups such as the DGB and the tenants’ association are urging the government to move more quickly.
A more radical alternative in Berlin?
While the federal government’s debate centres on tighter regulation, Berlin could become the testing ground for a more radical approach.
The Left Party, which campaigned heavily on housing during the recent state election, supports efforts to bring large numbers of privately owned apartments into public ownership.
The proposal builds on a long-running debate triggered by the 2021 referendum in which a majority of Berlin voters backed the idea of expropriating large housing companies.
Supporters argue that bringing large housing companies into public ownership would help curb rent increases and reduce the influence of major landlords. Critics counter that it would not create a single additional flat and could discourage investment in desperately needed housing.
READ ALSO: ‘Snubbing democracy’ – Why Germany’s new housing plan has angered unions
Whether the idea will ever become reality remains unclear. The Left Party is still negotiating with the SPD and Greens over a possible governing coalition in Berlin, partly over disagreements on exactly this issue.
At the time of writing, exploratory talks between the parties are set to continue following a brief hiatus.
At the same time, a planned meeting between Left Party chairman Luigi Pantisano and Vonovia chief executive Luka Mucic was called off this week after both sides publicly accused the other of changing previously agreed terms.
Vonovia, which owns around 130,000 apartments in Berlin, would be among the companies most affected by any future expropriation plans.
But for now, the more immediate question for most renters is whether the federal government can actually deliver the reforms already under discussion.
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