The Federal Constitutional Court dismissed a constitutional complaint regarding the extension of the rent‑price brake, the court in Karlsruhe announced on Tuesday.
The complainant, a landlord of a Berlin apartment, had challenged the regulation of rent amounts at the start of a tenancy and the 2020 rent‑cap ordinance issued by the Berlin Senate. The First Senate Chamber ruled that neither the regulation nor the ordinance infringes the complainant’s fundamental rights.
The rent‑price brake was introduced into the Civil Code in 2015, allowing state governments to designate areas with tight housing markets for up to five years during which the rent at the outset of a tenancy may not exceed the local comparable rent by more than ten percent. In 2020 the measure was extended because the underlying situation had not changed. The Berlin Senate declared the entire city an area of a tight housing market for five years.
The court found that the rent regulation pursues legitimate goals and is proportionate. Limiting rent levels does not constitute a severe intrusion into property rights, since it is intended to prevent exploitation of shortages. The interests of landlords are weighed against the legitimate interests of tenants and important public welfare considerations. The extension of the regulation is constitutional, as the ordinance‑maker must regularly assess the necessity and proportionality of rent‑caps (decision dated 8 January 2026 – 1 BvR 183/25).