Overview

• The Berliner Mieterverein reports a growing number of leases that peg rent adjustments to the consumer price index.
• Under these contracts landlords do not need to reference the local comparative rent or observe Berlin’s 15 percent cap over three years.
• If rents were not adjusted for several years, landlords can catch up to past inflation in one step, leading to increases of about 25 to 30 percent that many households cannot afford.
• Index-based increases require a valid clause in the lease and at least twelve months with the rent unchanged between adjustments.
• The association urges federal action to introduce a cap on index-linked increases and to exclude such clauses in future residential tenancies.