How much is the landlord allowed to raise the rent?

Post arrives: a rent increase. I explain what limits the law sets and how to check whether your landlord is keeping within them.

A letter from the landlord announces it: the rent is going up. For many tenants in Kirchseeon and the Ebersberg district, that’s an initial shock — especially when it isn’t clear whether the amount demanded is even permissible. The good news: the landlord cannot simply demand whatever they like. The law sets clear limits, both for an adjustment to the local comparative rent and following modernisation works. Whether your increase stays within these limits is usually a question that can only be answered after a close look at your tenancy agreement and the specific increase notice.

How I can help you

• Checking whether the rent increase was formally validly served
• Checking whether the statutory cap and waiting periods have been observed
• Assessing whether the stated local comparative rent is plausibly justified
• Reviewing modernisation notices and any increase based on them
• Drafting an objection or consent, within the deadline and with the right reasoning
• Representing you if the landlord sues for consent or threatens a claim to compel you to permit the works

Increase to the local comparative rent

The most common case: the landlord argues that your rent is below what is charged locally for comparable housing, and wants to catch up. This is governed by § 558 BGB. Several conditions apply at the same time:

Time bars: the rent must already have remained unchanged for at least 15 months at the time of the increase, and at least one year must have passed since the last rent increase. An increase every six months is therefore ruled out.

The cap: even if the local comparative rent is considerably higher, your rent may rise by no more than 20 percent within three years. In municipalities designated by ordinance as areas with a tight housing market, this cap drops to 15 percent. I will check for you whether such an ordinance applies to where you live.

Duty to give reasons: the landlord must justify the increase comprehensibly, for example with a rent index (Mietspiegel), an expert opinion, or by reference to several comparable flats. If a sound justification is missing, the increase demand is already open to challenge on formal grounds.

Important: a rent increase under § 558 BGB does not take effect automatically. You must consent to it — if you do not do so within the statutory consideration period, the landlord can sue for consent. Whether you should consent, consent in part, or object, I will work out with you based on the specific figures.

Increase following modernisation

The position is different where the landlord has refurbished or modernised — new windows, insulation, a lift — and wants to pass the costs on to the rent. Under § 559 BGB, the landlord may add a proportion of the costs incurred to the annual rent, though pure maintenance costs that would have been incurred anyway must be deducted. In practice, this is dispute point number one: landlords tend to label maintenance as modernisation, because only genuine modernisation costs may be passed on.

There is a cap here too: within six years, modernisation-related increases may raise the rent by no more than a certain amount per square metre — a lower limit applies for lower starting rents. And there is a hardship provision: if the increase would represent an unreasonable burden for you that is not justified even after weighing the landlord’s interests, it can be reduced or waived entirely. Whether a case of hardship applies depends heavily on your personal income and living circumstances — that is best discussed with you in a personal consultation.

It’s also crucial that if you don’t respond to a modernisation notice in time, you may lose objections you could otherwise have raised later. So don’t simply set such a notice aside — have it reviewed promptly.

More on tenancy and residential property law topics can be found on my topic page Real Estate Law.

A rent increase is not something you simply have to accept — but nor is it something to ignore. Bring me your increase notice and tenancy agreement; at the initial consultation I will check whether the increase is formally and arithmetically valid, and tell you what deadline you have and how best to respond.

This is general legal information and does not replace individual legal advice.

This article provides general information and is no substitute for legal advice in an individual case. Last updated: 2026-07-09.

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