Rising rents - Rent control to take effect in more cities in future
The rent cap is set to affect significantly more cities and municipalities in Lower Saxony. The state government has initiated a corresponding regulation, as announced by the State Chancellery in Hannover. The aim is to at least curb the rental development, according to Building Minister Olaf Lies (SPD).
According to the Ministry of Building, this rent cap currently applies in 18 cities and municipalities in the state, with more than 50 expected to be affected in the future. According to the State Chancellery, this instrument is applied when a report finds that the local housing market is tense. Indicators for this include the dynamics of rents and the rental burden on households. The state government has already obtained such a report.
The rent cap is regulated in the so-called Rent Protection Regulation. According to this, the rent for re-letting may not be more than ten percent above the local comparative value. This federal regulation applies, according to the information, until the end of the coming year, but is expected to be extended until 2029.
According to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Building, the draft regulation from the state government could be adopted in the fall, and the rent cap could then also apply, for example, in Cuxhaven, Hildesheim, Leer, Wunstorf, or Winsen (Aller). Currently, this is the case in Hannover, Lüneburg, Borkum, Braunschweig, and Osnabrück.
- olaf Lies, the Building Minister from Lower Saxony's SPD party, supports the state government's initiative to implement a rent cap, aiming to at least break the price increase in the housing market.
- The price brake on rent is expected to impact more than 50 cities and municipalities in Lower Saxony, beyond the current 18 areas where the cap is already in effect, as stated by the Ministry of Building.
- The rent control measure is applied by the state government when a report indicates tension in the local housing market, as seen through increasing rents and the rental burden on households, according to the State Chancellery in Hannover.
- Residents in municipalities like Cuxhaven, Hildesheim, Leer, Wunstorf, and Winsen (Aller) may benefit from the rental cap under the proposed state government regulation, according to the Ministry of Building's spokesperson.
- Olaf Lie, along with the Lower Saxony state government, are working to extend the federal Rent Protection Regulation, which currently limits rent increases to ten percent above local comparative values, for an additional eight years beyond 2022.
