Mr. Sebastian, the lease, Rent is the most important Instrument against exploding. Nevertheless, the regional court of Berlin has allowed recently a landlord, the rent stronger increase than in the representative list of rents provided because this was not calculated correctly. What is the Rent index is in case of emergency, even if a large apartment company him before the court can overturn?
First of all, Berlin is a special case. Here the rental market has changed in the past few years. Therefore, the Rent index has a particularly high significance and is often challenged in court as elsewhere. In Berlin of all places, the Rent index is calculated, unfortunately, outdated methods.
What was the Problem in Berlin?
Berlin is one of the few cities in Germany that still count with the table method, an outdated and inaccurate method. In 2015 Rent index, which was not recognized by the court, had been combined this old method with a new one, and the regression method. If you combine both methods, it is almost always wrong. The has also written of the experts, and the court followed.
the Berlin district court Charged rent judgment: Deutsche Wohnen may Rent you to ignore Daniel Bakir
The currently valid Berliner Mietspiegel no longer has this Problem.
That’s right. Unfortunately, the Berliners are gone instead of the modern method back to the obsolete. Which is easier to understand, from a statistical point of view, but second-rate. Because of very different homes in one group, since the same value as that for a 59-square-meter apartment is a 40 square meter apartment. And essential characteristics of the residential value will not be taken into account. This is a complex market like Berlin. We as a gif-rent Commission is committed to declare only the regression method, as permitted. This is not even particularly complicated. The majority of the cities, to calculate your Rent yourself, use this method. And all the commercial providers to offer the already, also the representative in Berlin. But it will just deliver what is ordered.
you are Chairman of the gif-rent Commission, the uniform Standards for Rent in Germany is supposed to develop. How chaotic the situation is currently?
Of the 80 largest cities have 45 a qualified Mietspiegel, 22, a simple Rent index and the other not. The simple Mietspiegel is disrespectfully called “red rent”, because the local landlord and tenant associations can easily some kind of, without that certain Standards must be adhered to. Usually this works very well and also such Rent levels to ensure legal peace. However, you have to court a lower strength of evidence, and expert opinion as a lever. The tenant protection is rather poor. Otherwise, a qualified representative list of rents: This has the force to court once the highest proof. For this, he needs to be in accordance with scientifically recognised methods, with largely open, what is it exactly.
Customary comparative Rent analysis rent: Where to live even more expensive that is, also outside of Berlin, Rent prices could be challenged in court than in Munich By Daniel Bakir
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There are some Rent index in Germany, which I have doubts as to whether the court, even if it is outside of Berlin so far, only very few judgments. What is lacking are reliable guidelines that we can give to the local authorities to Hand: a kind of cooking recipe, how to create a qualified Mietspiegel.
What needs to in the cooking recipe in there?
What are the possibilities to collect the data and what you have in mind is mandatory. Then methods that take into account all the important characteristics that make up the residential value, adequately and offset against each other. Criteria such as location, size, building Age, equipment. The regression method can. Which means you need something more than Excel, but someone with solid knowledge in statistics.
The right recipe helps, however, if the ingredients. Tenant associations in mind that in the Mietspiegeln only the expensive rents from new leases and rent increases are recognized in the last four years. Cheap old stock play no role in the rent. Critics, therefore, speak from the increase in Rent levels.
The period of four years, is the result of a political compromise. If it were only to the owners, they will draw only the current new leases as compared. To dampen the development of rents, has written the four years in the law. Whether we should now consider four, six, or ten years, is not always discussed. But this is ultimately a question of policy and not to us as a Commission of experts.
Interactive price Atlas Here you can see how much rent you pay neighboring
another tricky question is, how the data will be collected. Currently, the sample will be written to like people and to volunteer information about their lease asked for. However, we know that the majority of answers never. The distorted not enormous in the picture?
About 40 to 70 percent of the respondents did not reply. Especially people with a poor knowledge of German, but also high earners, busy people who don’t take the time. We have, therefore, often a data base, to many retirees, students and unemployed. This can distort, in fact the picture substantially. Whether the distortion goes up or down, we do not know in the end.
That sounds creepy when you consider that on the basis of such incomplete data will be charged rent for the market standard of comparison. How can I do this differently?
Currently, this is not better. We, as a Commission information request, therefore, a duty such as the microcensus. In every city that has a Rent index is drawn every four years, a percentage of the population at random and then have to give information about your lease. We obtain much more accurate data, and I think that should be easy.
The proposals worked out by your Commission, to be included in the Rent-regulation that could introduce the Federal Ministry of justice and consumer protection in the course of this year. What is at the end of the Benefit to the tenant?
The municipalities should receive the tools to create a qualified representative list of rents, the court is firmly. This protects the tenant, but also the small private landlords, because the proceedings in a court just for a few Thousand Euro for an expert opinion seek. In addition, the Rent should reflect the apartment market as realistic as possible and at a reasonable cost.
The rent of all this is not braking, or increase in the cities?
This is also not the goal of the Rent-regulation. Primarily, it’s going to be a better statistics, which in turn is the basis for political Action. Because without a valid representative list of rents the rental price brake is de facto running on Empty.
