Overview
- Property owners’ group Haus & Grund reports that offered rents for new leases are significantly higher than existing rents, creating a lock-in effect that discourages tenants from moving.
- Average rent burden after a move rises from about 14.2% to 19.4% of income for families and from 19.6% to 26.3% for single households.
- The city–rural divide is stark, with post-move burdens in big cities around 25% for families and over 40% for singles in Munich, Berlin or Offenbach, compared with under 10% for some rural families.
- Deutscher Mieterbund’s report counts roughly six million renters as extremely overburdened, and its survey finds 29% fear future unaffordability and 16% fear losing their home.
- Germany’s renter share reached about 52.8% in 2024, roughly 44 million people, as the DMB presses for stricter regulation and a construction offensive while Haus & Grund urges supply-focused measures and warns rent caps have limited effect.