Germany rent increase calculator: how much can the rent rise?

How high the rent may rise in Germany up to the comparable rent and under the cap, and from when it applies.

Highest possible new rent

€744.00

6.3% more rent than now

Plus €44.00 a month
Limit: 20% cap
from January 1, 2027

The local comparable rent for your apartment is €805.00 (70 m² × €11.50). The cap allows at most 20% more than the rent three years ago in three years: €620.00 × 1.20 = €744.00. The lower limit applies, the cap: the rent may rise from €700.00 to at most €744.00, so by €44.00 a month and €528.00 a year.

If the request is received in October 2026, you owe the higher rent from January 1, 2027. You can agree or terminate extraordinarily until December 31, 2026 (BGB §§ 558b and 561).

The request must be made and justified in text form, for example with the rent index (BGB § 558a).

The rent per month

Current rent€70094%
Possible increase€446%

I’m not an accountant or a financial advisor. This is an estimate, for information only. Check with a professional before you decide.

Your numbers

example: change the numbers

Current net rent per month

The rent without utility and heating costs, as you pay it today.

Net rent three years ago

The rent that applied three years before the date from which the higher rent is to apply, without increases after modernization or utility costs. If you have lived there for less than three years, enter the rent at the start of the lease.

Living area

The living area according to the lease.

Local comparable rent per m²

The value for your apartment in your city’s rent index (Mietspiegel: location, size, year of construction, features), per square meter and month without utility costs. For a range, take the value that fits your apartment.

Cap in your municipality

Within three years the rent may rise by at most 20%, by 15% if the state government has designated your municipality as particularly at risk by ordinance (BGB § 558 para. 3). It is in your state’s ordinance.

20%the general limit15%municipality with a special ordinance

Of which increases after modernization, per month

Only if the rent has risen in the last three years because of a modernization (BGB § 559): the amount per month. It does not count toward the cap (BGB § 558 para. 3). Otherwise 0.

The current rent has applied since: month

Start of the lease or the last rent increase. Count with the first of the month: if the rent began in the middle of a month, choose the following month.

The current rent has applied since: year

The request reaches the tenant in: month

The month in which the rent increase request reaches the tenant (receipt).

The request reaches the tenant in: year

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The calculation
	Current net rent	€700.00
	Local comparable rent€11.50 × 70 m²	€805.00
	Rent three years ago	€620.00
+	20% capBGB § 558 para. 3	€124.00
=	Limit from the cap	€744.00
=	The lower of the two limits applies	€744.00
	Current rent	€700.00
=	Highest possible increase	€44.00

How it works

The landlord can ask for consent to a higher rent up to the local comparable rent if the rent has been unchanged for 15 months at the time the increase is to take effect; the request can be received at the earliest a year after the last increase (BGB § 558 para. 1). The comparable rent is in the rent index (Mietspiegel); the calculator multiplies your value per square meter by the living area.
In addition the cap applies: within three years the rent may not rise by more than 20 percent, in municipalities with a special ordinance by not more than 15 percent; increases after modernization or in utility costs do not count (BGB § 558 para. 3). The calculator takes the rent three years ago, multiplies it by 1.20 or 1.15 and adds such increases. The lower of the two limits applies.
If you agree, you owe the higher rent from the first day of the third calendar month after the request is received; you can agree until the end of the second calendar month (BGB § 558b). Until then you can also terminate extraordinarily: the increase then does not take effect (BGB § 561).

Worked example

Now €700, three years ago €620, 70 m² and €11.50 comparable rent: 70 × 11.50 = €805; 20% cap: 620 × 1.20 = €744. €744 applies, so €44 more a month. If the request is received in October 2026, the higher rent applies from January 1, 2027, and you can agree until December 31, 2026.

Sources

Text checked on October 6, 2026

Good to know

This is an estimate from your details. The local comparable rent of a single apartment is often a range in the rent index, and in a dispute a court examines the individual case.
With a graduated rent an increase under § 558 is excluded during the term (BGB § 557a para. 2), and so is it with an index-linked rent (BGB § 557b para. 2): other rules apply then, and this calculator does not fit.
The page works with the net rent and compares the whole rent with the comparable rent. A rent increase after modernization (BGB § 559) has its own rules: 8 percent of the costs a year, capped at €3 per m² over six years.
From the amount that an increase to the comparable rent would give, third-party subsidies are deducted (BGB § 558 para. 5): this page does not know them.
The landlord must make the request in text form and justify it, for example with the rent index, a rent database, an expert opinion or three comparable apartments (BGB § 558a).

Frequently asked questions

How often and by how much may the landlord raise the rent?

Up to the local comparable rent, if the rent has been unchanged for 15 months, and within three years by at most 20 percent, in municipalities with a special ordinance by at most 15 percent (BGB § 558).

What is the cap?

The limit by which the rent may rise at most within three years: 20 percent, 15 percent in municipalities with a tight housing market under a state ordinance. Increases after modernization and in utility costs do not count.

From when do I have to pay the higher rent?

If you agree, from the first day of the third calendar month after the rent increase request is received (BGB § 558b para. 1). Receipt in October means: from January 1.

Until when can I agree?

Until the end of the second calendar month after receipt. After that the landlord can sue for consent within three more months (BGB § 558b para. 2).

Can I terminate because of the rent increase?

Yes, extraordinarily, until the end of the second month after the request is received, effective at the end of the month after that; the increase then does not take effect (BGB § 561).