Munich rental madness: Has the wrong rent index been calculated for years?

A new study by the city shows: The housing market is so overpriced. But the mistake seems to be deep.

• There are apparently two rent levels in Munich - the "real" and the "qualified" one.
• A new study shows that the Munich housing market is so overpriced.
• The study also shows that citizens in Munich could save a lot of rent.

Munich - These figures should make the politicians in Berlin think: Yesterday the social department presented the results of the so-called "real rent index" for Munich . The city ​​council commissioned the survey last spring on the initiative of OB Dieter Reiter (61, SPD). It was to be expected: The results show that we could save a lot of rent !

Was everything a rental lie so far? The monthly average rental price per square meter is therefore a whole euro cheaper. According to the current so-called qualified rent index , the basic rent in Munich averages 11.69 euros per square meter. If the real rent index were used, the local rent would be only 10.68 euros! The rent level would be 8.6 percent lower - and citizens could save money.

Munich: Rental madness - Has the wrong rent index been calculated for years?

Because the landlord must orientate himself on the rent index : With new leases , they may charge a maximum of ten percent more than the rent index value. Also means: If this rent index value were lower, then new contracts would be cheaper - which in turn would dampen the next rent index value . Conversely, this also means that a higher rent index increases the cost of living for the whole city.

Reason for the differences: The values ​​for the current rent index are calculated from cases in which apartments were newly rented or in which the rent was increased within four (or six) years. Subsidized apartments or cheap existing rents are not included. This is different with the new approach of the social department: for this 1000 such cheaper apartments were taken into account.

Munich rental madness: Has the wrong rent index been calculated for years?

Social consultant Dorothee Schiwy says: "The previous rent index is actually a rent increase index." Among other things, the often higher equipment after renovation drives up the rental price. The real rent index now raised is “a real average rent index. And this would have a dampening effect on the rental market ”.

But: As long as the federal laws do not change, the real rent index has no relevance. It is planned that Reiter will knock on the door with the new numbers in Berlin and put pressure on them.

Munich: New study shows - The housing market is so overpriced

Can he succeed? Berlin has known criticism of the rent index for a long time. And the only change in the law that the Bundestag was able to achieve is to extend the period under consideration for the comparative rent from four to six years. The owner association Haus und Grund also emphasizes that previous attempts have failed.

The SPD nevertheless underlined their demand. Claudia Tausend , chairwoman of the Munich SPD, says: "With the figures from Munich now available, a rethink should finally begin." Group leader Christian Müller adds: "The real rent index shows: There could finally be relaxation for the tenants."

Another study recently concluded that rents in Munich are falling. But there was a catch. Furthermore, people in Munich keep getting into the situation because of the high rents in Munich that they hardly have any money to live on. Therefore, many leave the Bavarian capital.

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