Existing in a particular manner. Paraphrased: A person's way of life or the manner in which they exist. - In which areas of Germany do rent prices increase the fastest?
In the past year, rents have skyrocketed, especially around Berlin's outskirts, with Potsdam leading the way with a 31.2% increase. Berlin followed closely behind with a 26.7% rise. These stats were reported in response to a query from the Left in the Bundestag.
A whopping 50% of Germans live in rented accommodation, but the challenge is that there aren't enough apartments in popular areas, leading to immense pressure on the rental market, especially in large cities like Berlin and universities. So far, rural areas have been immune to these changes. However, the recent update shows even sparsely populated regions are experiencing a surge in rental costs.
Data from the Federal Institute for Building, Urban and Regional Research (BBSR) illustrates this phenomenon. The institute's findings account for ads appearing online for apartments between 40-100 square meters, but leave out additional expenses, waiting lists, and direct brokerage fee arrangements.
In rural areas, rents have become more expensive, and the least populated district in Germany, Prignitz, has experienced a 18% hike from 2022 to 2023. Despite this increase, living in Prignitz is still more affordable than in most other regions. Tenants pay an average of 7.08 euros per square meter there.
The Prignitz is joined by two districts in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's Ostsee-Landkreis Vorpommern-Rügen and the Landkreis Vorpommern-Greifwald, where rents have also skyrocketed, by 19.9% and 15.3%, respectively. These regions concern the Left, as many residents are low-income, but the higher prices are relatively affordable compared to other places. In Vorpommern-Rügen, rents are at least half as expensive as in Berlin.
The Upper Palatinate district of Tirschenreuth near the German-Czech border witnessed a 23.9% rent hike, but prices are still low at around 6.86 euros per square meter. Similar increases were noted in Kaiserslautern (up 19.8%), Kaufbeuren (up 17%), the Trier-Saarburg district, and the Wunsiedel district in the Fichtelgebirge, which saw rents grow by more than 15%.
Berlin now ranks as the second most expensive city for rentals in Germany, with an average of 16 euros per square meter. However, Berliners' salaries are substantially lower than in Munich, the nation's priciest rental hub, where the square meter cost exceeds 20.50 euros.
A third of all residents of Berlin can no longer afford a home on the open market, and half of all rental households depend on government assistance, like rent caps or social housing. The tenants' associations have requested a nationwide rent cap and strict measures against evictions and self-help legislation. After all, the current rent brake seems inadequate, given the ever-increasing rental prices. This law is meant to restrict rent at a few percentage points above local comparison rent.
The Left MP Caren Lay emphasized the importance of a binding rent cap, stating that the current rent-brake approach is ineffectual and needs to be altered. Thousands of protesters gathered in Berlin this weekend, pushing for a radical overhaul of the nation's housing policies, including a rent cap and bans on evictions and self-help remedies.
