According to a recent survey conducted by the residential property association Haus und Grund, 60.5 percent of private landlords are currently considering either withdrawing or partially ceasing their rental activities entirely, even selling their properties, due to planned changes in rental law.
The primary concern, the report indicates, is not any single action within the current rent policy, but rather the cumulative effect of multiple simultaneous regulatory plans. These regulations include the “Rent Package II” approved by the federal government on Wednesday, which establishes new rules covering areas such as furnished and short-term rentals. The goal of this package is to improve tenant protection and slow the rise of rents in tightly constrained housing markets.
Landlords are particularly critical of the proposed expansion of grace periods when addressing rent arrears. A significant 68.5 percent of surveyed owners view this provision as a strong or very strong restriction. Haus und Grund noted that the change is considered structurally relevant because it affects the core principle of tenancy: the enforceability of payment claims.
Another major point of anxiety centers on index rents, specifically the potential limitation that rent increases above three percent may only be partially accommodated. Twenty-six percent of respondents predict severe or very severe limitations here. The association explained that index rents are a vital risk management tool for a large section of its members, and any interference directly impacts their economic calculations and their ability to hedge against inflation-related cost increases.
Kai Warnecke, the association’s president, stated to the newspaper that the federal government’s plans send a clear signal that private landlords are essentially being penalized. In his estimation, this punitive approach will dampen investment readiness and discourage new construction, ultimately leading to negative consequences for the availability of affordable housing.