How to calculate rent for a new tenancy in Germany

Distinguish the figures before starting the calculation

Four different figures often become mixed together. Net basic rent is the payment for the accommodation without separately charged operating costs. Local comparative rent is a legally defined reference. Advertised rents are amounts other owners currently ask for in listings. The total monthly payment may also include operating-cost advances or agreed flat-rate charges and other relevant contractual items. These figures can be related without being interchangeable.

A particularly expensive neighbouring listing does not automatically increase the lawful rent of your property. An owners’ association payment cannot simply be passed in full to the tenant as operating costs. Your mortgage instalment establishes neither the local comparison rent nor a statutory ceiling. It belongs in a separate financial assessment of ownership, even though it clearly matters to your personal decision about whether letting is worthwhile.

Use two worksheets. The first explains the proposed rent from the property and legal position. The second records income, owner expenses, financing and maintenance provision. If the rent supported by the law and market does not meet your expectations, reassess the financial decision. A gap between income and your own commitments cannot be solved simply by choosing a higher number for the advertisement.

This guide concerns a new tenancy. Changes to rent under an existing agreement follow their own conditions and procedures. Keep those situations separate from the outset. An amount that might be considered for a new contract cannot necessarily be imposed on an existing tenant. State clearly which situation you are assessing before selecting a calculation method or acting on an online example.

Establish the living area and relevant property characteristics

Multiplication by a square-metre figure is only as reliable as the area used. Check where the stated living area comes from and which method was applied. An earlier advertisement or an owner’s rounded estimate does not replace understandable supporting documents. Sloping ceilings, balconies, terraces and ancillary rooms can require different treatment. Resolve material inconsistencies before marketing instead of selecting the largest available figure.

Prepare a property characteristics sheet covering age, location, size, floor, layout, bathroom, heating, energy condition and relevant facilities. Use features that are actually present and relevant to the chosen comparison basis. A large amount spent on refurbishment does not automatically justify an equivalent rent increase. What matters is the resulting property and the way the applicable framework treats its characteristics.

Distinguish improvement from maintenance. Replacing a defective component does not necessarily have the same legal significance as improving the standard of accommodation. Record the year, scope and evidence for work. If you intend to rely on a particular statutory provision later, you need a traceable factual basis and may require a professional calculation rather than a simple total of invoices.

For houses, furnished apartments or unusual layouts, check whether the reference you are using covers the situation. A general online form can overlook important limitations. The characteristics sheet helps identify where further assessment is needed. It also supports the listing because the important facts have already been organised and can be communicated consistently to prospective tenants.

Use the relevant current rent reference and its instructions

Identify the appropriate current comparison basis for the location. A German Mietspiegel contains more than a table of numbers: its scope and application instructions matter. Read them before making the calculation. Building-age categories, location bands and facilities should be selected according to the facts, not the result you hope to reach. Record the reasons for your classification and any particular circumstances requiring further consideration.

At this guide’s editorial date, Düsseldorf’s rent reference effective from August 2026 is available. Use the current document and its instructions. We do not reproduce its table or give a single supposedly representative Düsseldorf figure, because that would conceal differences between properties. Check the current edition again when you actually prepare a later letting rather than assuming this publication date remains decisive indefinitely.

Follow the whole method. Where a base value and adjustments apply, assess all relevant features, including those that may reduce the result. Check whether a characteristic is already included before counting it again. Double counting creates an inflated figure even if each individual adjustment initially sounds plausible. Obtain clarification where the property does not fit the categories cleanly.

Then use comparable advertisements as a reasonableness check. Examine location, size, condition and contract type. A furnished short-stay offer is not an immediately suitable comparison for an ordinary long-term unfurnished tenancy. Record the limits of the comparison rather than presenting a handful of listings as a precise market assessment. An explainable range can be more useful than unsupported decimal accuracy.

Check rent restrictions and exceptions before advertising

In designated areas, section 556d BGB generally limits the starting residential rent to no more than ten per cent above the local comparative rent. Whether the rule applies at a particular location depends on the relevant state ordinance. For NRW, check the current Mieterschutzverordnung rather than relying on an old municipality list without a validity date.

The legislation contains additional rules and exceptions. Section 556e BGB addresses, among other matters, a qualifying previous rent and particular modernisation work. Section 556f BGB includes exceptions for accommodation first used and let after 1 October 2014 and for the first letting after comprehensive modernisation. Each has specific conditions that need to be established for the actual property.

New flooring or a refurbished bathroom should not automatically be described as comprehensive modernisation in the statutory sense. Likewise, an amount once demanded from a previous tenant is not automatically the relevant protected previous rent. Facts, timing and calculation must fit the provision being used. Gather the necessary evidence before agreeing the new tenancy rather than trying to reconstruct it after a dispute arises.

Where certain exceptions are relied upon, section 556g BGB also imposes information requirements, including timely disclosure in the prescribed form. A mathematically correct figure alone may therefore be insufficient. Our guide to the rent brake provides further orientation. Have difficult cases assessed before publication so that the advertised amount and subsequent contract rest on the same valid basis.

Follow an illustrative calculation for an 80-square-metre apartment

The following numbers are assumptions only. They describe neither an actual apartment nor a Düsseldorf Mietspiegel value. Assume the relevant living area is 80 square metres and a properly established local comparative rent is €10 per square metre each month. The initial comparative amount is therefore €800 monthly, calculated as 80 multiplied by 10.

If the rent brake applied to this example without a relevant exception, ten per cent above that reference would produce a calculated limit of €880 net basic rent. This is a ceiling calculation under the stated assumptions, not an automatic recommendation always to charge the maximum. Actual demand, condition and the proposed letting can support a different amount within the applicable legal framework.

Now assume appropriately estimated operating-cost advances of €220 are agreed. With basic rent of €880, the initial monthly payment would total €1,100. Tenants may have additional direct contracts, such as household electricity. The operating-cost advance is not extra unrestricted profit for the owner; it funds the corresponding expenses and is handled through the agreed accounting arrangement.

If an input changes, revisit the calculation. A different verified area changes the multiplication, a different comparative figure changes the possible limit, and a different legal classification may change the entire method. Do not copy only the final number from an example. Check every input and label assumptions. A worksheet showing the reasoning is more useful than an apparently precise answer from a calculator whose underlying assumptions are unclear.

Keep operating costs, association payments and owner expenses separate

For a condominium, the regular association payment is useful information but not a ready-made tenant operating-cost calculation. It can include recoverable and non-recoverable items. Management expenses and contributions to the maintenance reserve, for example, cannot simply be passed on as ordinary operating costs. Review the budget and accounts by category and against the effective provisions in the tenancy agreement.

Estimate advances from a reasonable basis. Earlier accounts can help, but check changes in prices, occupation or supply. An intentionally low advance may make the listing look cheaper while creating substantial later balancing payments and dissatisfaction. Explain what is included and which services tenants must arrange themselves. Clarity about the total burden helps applicants assess affordability before entering the agreement.

The owner’s ongoing financial calculation is separate. Include non-recoverable expenses, likely maintenance, potential vacancy and financing where relevant. A monthly balance before tax is not automatically a complete return-on-investment measure. Reserves and future major works can matter even when no identical amount is paid out every month. Consider the expected pattern of costs rather than only the latest bill.

Our guide to recoverable operating costs explains the general allocation. For your property, create three categories: paid directly by the tenant, accounted for through advances, and borne by the owner. This supports the contract and prevents the same item being counted twice or omitted entirely when the rent and ownership budget are compared.

Assess furniture, parking and unusual features individually

Furnished accommodation needs additional consideration, but furniture does not automatically remove ordinary rent restrictions. Document the items provided, their condition and their contractual treatment. A standard furniture percentage taken from the internet is not a universally binding calculation rule. Where an overall amount is advertised, it should still be possible to understand the services and costs that it covers.

Treat parking spaces, garages and special ancillary areas with similar care. The actual subject of the letting and the relationship between agreements matter. Artificially splitting payments into several labels does not automatically remove legal limits on residential rent. Have unusual arrangements checked before using them as the basis of the listing or assuming that every separate line is unrestricted.

Describe high-quality features without exaggeration. A new bathroom, lift or useful outside space may influence demand. Whether it supports a particular adjustment depends on the comparison method and legal conditions. Your original purchase cost or personal preference is not a general measure of the monthly amount an applicant can lawfully be asked to pay.

Our guide to letting a furnished apartment covers inventory, term and ongoing operation. If the property combines several special features, assess them together. Several apparently reasonable additions can produce an unsupported total, especially where the same benefit has already been included in the base figure or another adjustment elsewhere in the calculation.

Document the result and turn it into a clear letting offer

Keep the calculation with the reference used, the characteristics sheet and supporting evidence. Record the date and unanswered questions. This helps your own decision and later explanations. If you rely on a special statutory rule, organise the relevant facts and required disclosures before the contract rather than trying to assemble them after the tenancy has begun.

Translate the result into an understandable advertisement. State net basic rent, operating-cost payments, other relevant amounts and the planned start clearly. Describe the features underlying the assessment without turning every item into a promotional superlative. A well-explained offer lets prospective tenants judge both the likely monthly burden and whether the accommodation suits their needs.

Review the response sensibly. Views without suitable applications may point to unclear information or an unsuitable overall burden, but a small enquiry count does not by itself prove that the square-metre calculation is wrong. Examine price, photographs, description, availability and audience together. Any change must continue to respect the legal basis for the rent.

If you are preparing a new letting in Düsseldorf or NRW, provide the location, property type, size and intended start through our letting enquiry. Available area documents and condition information help establish the starting position. The next discussion can identify what is missing for a supported rental assessment and an accurate offer to suitable prospective tenants.

Before comparing rents per square metre, check how the living area in a German tenancy agreement is calculated and which figure applies to rent increases and operating costs.