BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Although the traffic light coalition agreed in principle in April to extend the rent freeze beyond 2025, the amendment to the law is not making any progress. The Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP), who is responsible for tenancy law, told the German Press Agency: "My draft for the rent freeze has long been completed." The proposal has been with the Federal Chancellery for weeks. What was in the coalition agreement between the SPD, Greens and FDP and agreed with the Federal Chancellor would thus be implemented.

SPD parliamentary group deputy calls for improvements

However, some SPD politicians see things very differently. "In more than two and a half years, Buschmann has not managed to do anything about rising rents in Germany," criticized Dirk Wiese, deputy leader of the SPD parliamentary group. "The draft law may be finished from his point of view, but from our point of view it is by no means."

In tight housing markets, the rent freeze stipulates that, in principle, the rent may not be more than ten percent higher than the local comparative rent when a new rental agreement is concluded. This rent cap does not apply to new builds and extensively modernized apartments.

Whether the rent cap is applied in certain areas is decided by the respective state government. Buschmann has agreed to an extension until the end of 2029. Supporters of the rent freeze are now pushing for the extension to be implemented quickly.

States should provide good reasons for applying the rent freeze

"It remains the case that the federal government does not prescribe the rent freeze," said Buschmann. If federal states wanted to apply the rent freeze, they would have to justify this. In future, somewhat stricter requirements should apply. The FDP politician explained: "The Federal Constitutional Court has already ruled: The rent freeze interferes with the constitutionally protected property of homeowners." The longer the rent freeze is in place, the greater the impact of this encroachment. This must be taken into account in the new extension. "If I have my way, we can take the next steps in the legislative process immediately," said Buschmann. Because it would be desirable for the federal states to have legal certainty quickly.

The Minister indicated that he was not prepared to make any more far-reaching changes. This probably also includes considerations from the ranks of the SPD and the Greens to lower the cap. This determines how quickly rents can rise on existing contracts. The current rule is that rents cannot be increased by more than 20 percent within three years, up to a maximum of the local comparative rent. In areas with a tight housing market, a maximum increase of 15 percent is permitted within three years, up to the local comparative rent.

Wiese would like to limit increases in existing rents more severely in some cases

Buschmann's draft raises "central gaps in tenant protection that are unacceptable to us", said Wiese. For example, the rent cap. The coalition agreement states: "In tight markets, we will lower the cap to eleven percent in three years." This reduction is a decision of the coalition "and not a grant by the grace of the minister", says Wiese. The SPD parliamentary group also called for regulation of the market for mobile rental apartments and short-term rentals in order to prevent circumvention of the rent cap. The exemption rule for new builds must also be adapted.

The SPD parliamentary group deputy says: "If Buschmann doesn't want to go down in history as the Minister of Brakes, he should get to work as quickly as possible." Time is of the essence, especially as the rent freeze in states such as Berlin will expire in June 2025./abc/DP/nas