Cheap rents are punished in Stuttgart - "I find it dishonest from politics"
Created: 03/15/2022, 16:22
By: Nadja Pohr
Rents in Stuttgart are high anyway.
However, landlords who offer rents that are too cheap are penalized by the tax office.
© Werner Dieterich/IMAGO
Cases in which landlords were penalized for lower rents caused a sensation in Stuttgart.
In an interview with BW24, an expert explains that these are exceptions.
Stuttgart - Living in Stuttgart is an expensive affair.
But it's not just in the region that renters have to dig deep into their pockets - rents are skyrocketing everywhere in Germany's big cities.
Cases have now become known in the state capital in which landlords have been penalized by the tax office for offering cheaper rents, as reported by BW24*.
How much rent a landlord is allowed to charge is regulated in this country by the local comparative rent.
It is made up of several aspects such as the type, size, condition and location of the living space and serves as a benchmark for price increases.
The rent index is also taken into account.
If landlords have made expenses for their property in Stuttgart, they can deduct these from tax as so-called income-related expenses - and this is where the tax office intervenes.
Expert on penalties for too cheap rents in Stuttgart: Low prices are "not forbidden"
The income-related expenses can only be fully deducted if the rent is at least 66 percent of the local comparison.
If it is between 50 and 66 percent, it can only be partially dissipated.
There's nothing underneath.
The Ministry of Finance insists on the "principle of tax justice": Only if taxable income is generated through an activity, the expenses for it are to be taken into account in principle as a tax reduction.
"It's not forbidden for landlords to offer low rental prices, so you can either partially or completely deduct income-related expenses from your taxes," explains Ulrich Wecker, Managing Director of Haus & Grund in Stuttgart, in an interview with
BW24
.
Among other things, the association stands for a fair balance of interests between tenants and landlords.
Rental prices in Stuttgart: “Unfortunately, good nature is often punished”
In the state capital of Baden-Württemberg, only a few exceptional cases are known anyway and if that is a private decision of each individual, explains the managing director.
In most cases, cheap rents would be agreed when accommodating relatives.
"Unfortunately, good nature is often punished," says the expert.
"Especially when selling, this leads to price reductions".
Misuse of the rent index: Expert finds politicians' behavior "dishonest"
From the expert's point of view, this is basically correct.
"We have a functioning system," says Ulrich Wecker.
Nevertheless, he criticizes the abuse of the rent index by politicians.
"The rent index originally served as a justification tool for landlords to adjust rents," says Wecker.
"Today, attempts are being made to dampen rents and thus be able to intervene in the market."
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"In my opinion, this is an attempt to cover up a political failure," says the expert.
Because the city of Stuttgart is more focused on the densification of the city center and does not want to build on untouched areas in the outer area of the region.
The consequence: a lack of living space and continued high rents.
“I therefore find the behavior of the politicians dishonest.
In the morning people are in favor of preserving farmland and meadows, and in the afternoon they complain about rents being too high.
The reason for this, however, is that too little is being built.
If the offer is low, the price goes up.” *BW24 is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
