Berlin’s parliament passed the long-awaited rent cap at the end of January. Its implementation, however, falls on us.
January 30th was a historic day for Berlin. Not only because our panda babies made their public debut, but because the long-awaited rent cap passed through Berlin’s parliament. The final version of the law that freezes rents at the level they were in summer 2019 and enables a cap on particularly high rents, however, has one central difference to the idea that was once debated. It won’t be the Bezirke (district councils) that are responsible for enforcing the new rules, but the tenants themselves.
This is designed to protect the cap from legal attacks, but in reality dampens its impact: affected tenants will think twice before entering a protracted battle with their landlord. Because said landlord could well use it against them in future. Nevertheless, the cap is a Germany-wide first when it comes to the protection of tenants. We wish it, and the pandas, a long and fruitful life.
Translated by Aida Baghernejad
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