Hamburg tenant Lilli cut her rent by €150 a month
After careful consideration, Lilli decided to enforce the rent control (Mietpreisbremse) with CONNY – and succeeded! Her worries that she might run into trouble with her landlord turned out to be unfounded. Lilli shares her story here to show all tenants in Hamburg how easy it can be to reduce your rent using the rent control.
What Hamburg tenants should know about the rent control
In Hamburg, the rent control applies to tenancy agreements concluded on or after 11 July 2018. It covers the entire city of Hamburg and therefore all of its districts.
If your net rent (excluding heating and service charges) is more than 10 percent above the local reference rent, you can enforce the rent control for your flat in Hamburg. Currently, 66.5% of tenants in Hamburg pay too much rent. Unfortunately, according to a study commissioned by the City of Hamburg, only 1% of Hamburg tenants make use of the rent control.
Daniel Halmer, Managing Director of CONNY
“Thanks to the rent control, which has been upheld by the courts, tenants in Hamburg have the chance to take action against excessive rents. On average, they can save €276.”
Thousands of tenants are already enforcing the rent control with CONNY. Calculate your potential rent savings now in just a few minutes.
Our interview with Lilli
What brought you to the Hanseatic city of Hamburg?
I was actually born in Hamburg but grew up in Munich. Then I studied media studies in Weimar. In 2018 I came to Hamburg for an internship and found a room in a shared flat. When I then started my master’s degree here, I wanted to find a place of my own.
Hamburg is notorious when it comes to flat hunting. How did your search go?
I searched forever – on Immoscout, but also in Facebook groups. For several months I viewed three to four flats a week. At viewings, people were queuing all the way out onto the street. Several times I thought I must have got it, but I always ended up empty-handed.
How did you get your current flat?
I was at a viewing in Barmbek. I was initially turned down there too, but the property management company said they still had a flat available in the building next door. It was in serious need of renovation, they said, but if I was prepared to take that on, I could move in. And then I was offered the flat.
What kind of flat was it?
It was two rooms with a total of 45 m². The flat was in a really dated condition. The previous tenants had lived there for decades – and you could tell. There was faded wallpaper, ancient doors in a strange shade of turquoise and an ugly linoleum floor. So I renovated: I tore out the wallpaper, painted, varnished the doors, had the floorboards sanded and laid a new floor in the kitchen. In total, the flat cost €543 excluding heating and service charges. After the long search and the prices I had already seen, that didn’t shock me at first.
"I got talking to a neighbour who had moved in two years earlier. It turned out she was paying €200 less."
How did you realise the flat was too expensive?
At some point I got talking to a neighbour who had moved in two years earlier. It turned out she was paying €200 less – and her flat had been in much better condition than mine from the start.
Did you then decide to do something about it?
I was completely torn. After all, I had agreed to the flat at that price, but at the same time I found it really unfair that landlords can get away with this.
And how did CONNY come into play?
Right at that moment I saw a CONNY ad on Facebook and entered my details into the rent calculator. Some of them were estimates, because, for example, I hadn’t received an energy performance certificate from the property management. In any case, the calculator showed that I was paying €150 too much in rent.
And then you were determined to reduce your rent?
At first I still wrestled with it – for months. I was also a bit afraid of jeopardising the flat I had worked so hard to find. I thought landlords make tenants’ lives hell if they rebel. On the other hand, I didn’t want to be part of this upward spiral that keeps pushing rents higher and higher. In the end my gut feeling won: nothing ventured, nothing gained – and I instructed CONNY.
And did your fears come true?
No, that was the crazy thing. It took less than a week, and the property management reduced the rent by €150 – along with an apology. I found that unbelievable and thought: if only I had done this sooner. CONNY gave me €150 every month – that sounds like the contents of a spam email (laughs).
If the reduction is successful, CONNY receives five times one month’s savings – how do you rate this fee?
I think the fee is perfectly fair. After all, CONNY handled the entire process for me and also advised me over the phone several times beforehand. When I told my father about it, he said with a half-smile that you had earned very easy money with me, but there are simply more complex cases and less complex ones.
What could CONNY do better?
For me it simply went perfectly; it was a great feeling not to have to worry about anything. And I thought the support before and during the process was excellent and gave me a good feeling throughout.
What are you doing with the money you save?
My parents are still supporting me financially during my studies. Thanks to CONNY, they now need to transfer €150 less to me every month. That makes me really happy!
CONNY is on your side!
- Fill in the online questionnaire and get your result straight away.
- We review your case and, once instructed, enforce your rent control claim.
- You receive your payout. CONNY covers all lawyer and court costs.
Thousands of tenants are already enforcing the rent control with CONNY. In Hamburg, you can expect average savings of €276 per month.
Calculate your potential rent savings now in just a few minutes.