1. Designated town
The flat must be in a town or municipality that the state has designated as a tight housing market by regulation.
Where does the rent cap (Mietpreisbremse) apply?
The rent cap applies in 13 federal states – and there only in the towns named in a state regulation (Landesverordnung). § 556d BGB allows such regulations until 31 December 2029. Look up your town on the interactive map.
Current overview
The rent cap applies regionally – not nationwide.
§ 556d BGB only takes effect where a federal state has designated an area as a tight housing market by statutory regulation. The federal government extended the provision in 2025 until 31 December 2029. Without a state regulation, § 556d BGB has no effect where you live.
The wording of § 556d BGB
Paragraph 1: “Where a tenancy agreement for residential space is concluded in an area with a tight housing market designated by statutory regulation under paragraph 2, the rent at the start of the tenancy may exceed the local reference rent (§ 558 paragraph 2) by no more than 10 per cent.”
Paragraph 2 sentence 1: “The state governments are authorised to designate areas with tight housing markets by statutory regulation for a period of no more than five years at a time.” Under sentence 2, such an area exists “where the adequate supply of rental housing to the population on reasonable terms is particularly at risk in a municipality or part of a municipality”.
On the duration, paragraph 2 says: “A statutory regulation under sentence 1 must expire no later than the end of 31 December 2029.” This date has stood in the BGB since the Act Extending the Mietpreisbremse; the Bundestag and Bundesrat passed it in summer 2025. Until then the deadline was 31 December 2025. The extension is in force, not merely planned.
Thirteen states currently have a regulation under § 556d paragraph 2 BGB: Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Sachsen and Thüringen. Schleswig-Holstein, Saarland and Sachsen-Anhalt have none. The rent cap does not apply there.
If your flat is in a designated town, the rent at the start of the tenancy may be at most 10 per cent above the local reference rent (ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete). If you pay more, you can object to the breach under § 556g BGB; for tenancies that began on or after 1 April 2020 you get the overpaid rent back from the start of the tenancy, provided your objection (Rüge) reaches the landlord within 30 months of the tenancy start.
731
towns and area units on the interactive map
13
federal states with at least one designated area
10 %
at most above the local reference rent – subject to statutory exceptions
Important: The states do not all count the same way. Niedersachsen, for example, also lists joint municipalities (Samtgemeinden) as area units. The current state regulation is always decisive – not the number in this overview alone.
Is your town on the list? A single hit on the map can mean your rent is set too high. CONNY's first assessment is free and takes a few minutes.
Check your rent for freeHow the rule works
When does the rent cap apply?
To check, you have to look at the location, the tenancy start, the local reference rent and possible exceptions together.
2. Check the tenancy start
What matters is whether the relevant state regulation was in force when the tenancy was signed or began.
3. Check the rent level
As a rule, the initial rent may be at most 10 per cent above the local reference rent. Exceptions can change the result.
Interactive map
Does the rent cap apply in your town?
Type at least two letters. A hit shows the town, the federal state and the term currently on record.
The interactive map could not be loaded. Use the federal-state overview below the map.
Data as of 5 August 2026. The map is for initial orientation only and does not replace a check of the applicable state regulation and your specific tenancy agreement.
Federal states in detail
Current designated areas and terms
The cards show the position as of 5 August 2026. § 556d paragraph 2 BGB allows regulations until 31.12.2029 at the latest; several states have chosen shorter terms and must issue a new regulation before expiry, otherwise the rent cap there ends with the regulation.
Baden-Württemberg
activeThe designated area covers 130 towns and municipalities. The regulation runs until 31.12.2026; for tenancies that begin in one of these towns by then, the rent cap applies. The state may issue a follow-up regulation until 31.12.2029 at the latest.
Bayern
activeThe rent cap applies in 285 towns, market towns and municipalities. Check directly on the map whether your town is one of them.
Berlin
activeBerlin is designated in full as an area with a tight housing market.
Brandenburg
activeThe current regulation covers Potsdam and 35 further municipalities around Berlin and in other tight housing markets.
Bremen
activeThe rent cap applies in the city municipality of Bremen (Stadtgemeinde Bremen). Bremerhaven is not part of the designated area.
Hamburg
activeThe rent cap applies throughout the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
Hessen
activeThe tenant protection regulation (Mieterschutzverordnung) covers 49 municipalities and runs until 25.11.2026. For tenancies that begin by then, the rent cap applies in these towns.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
activeRostock and Greifswald are covered until 30.09.2028. For Binz, Graal-Müritz, Heringsdorf, Kühlungsborn, Rerik, Sellin, Zingst and Zinnowitz the coastal regulation runs until 31.12.2029.
Niedersachsen
activeThe regulation names 58 towns, municipalities, island communities and joint municipalities (Samtgemeinden). For joint municipalities, the map refers to the area unit named in the regulation.
Nordrhein-Westfalen
activeThe rent cap applies in the 57 municipalities listed in the annex to the NRW tenant protection regulation.
Rheinland-Pfalz
activeCovered are five independent or larger cities plus every municipality in the districts of Alzey-Worms and Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis.
Sachsen
activeThe rent cap applies only in Dresden and Leipzig.
Thüringen
activeThe Thuringian rent limitation regulation (Mietpreisbegrenzungsverordnung) covers Erfurt and Jena.
Schleswig-Holstein
not activeNo state regulation under § 556d paragraph 2 BGB is in force. The rent cap therefore applies nowhere in Schleswig-Holstein – not even in Kiel or Lübeck.
Saarland
not activeNo state regulation under § 556d paragraph 2 BGB is in force. The rent cap therefore applies nowhere in Saarland – not even in Saarbrücken.
Sachsen-Anhalt
not activeNo state regulation under § 556d paragraph 2 BGB is in force. The rent cap therefore applies nowhere in Sachsen-Anhalt – not even in Magdeburg or Halle.
Frequently asked questions
What tenants should know
No. § 556d BGB allows the states to designate tight housing markets by regulation. Without a valid state regulation, the rent cap does not apply in that town.
Until 31 December 2029 at the latest. That is what § 556d paragraph 2 BGB has said since the 2025 extension. Each state sets its own term in its regulation, and that term may not go beyond this date. Sachsen, for example, ends on 30.06.2027, Bayern not until 31.12.2029.
The deadline in paragraph 2. State regulations could previously run until 31 December 2025 at most, now until 31 December 2029. The limit of 10 per cent above the local reference rent in paragraph 1 and the exceptions in § 556e and § 556f BGB are unchanged. The Act Extending the Mietpreisbremse has been passed and is in force; a further extension beyond 2029 is not law.
In 13 states: Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Sachsen and Thüringen. Not in Schleswig-Holstein, Saarland or Sachsen-Anhalt. Within a state, it applies only in the towns the regulation names.
No. You also need to check, among other things, the tenancy start, the local reference rent, the previous rent, new-build or modernisation status and other contract details.
The main statutory exceptions are flats first used and let after 1 October 2014, and the first letting after extensive modernisation (§ 556f BGB). A permissible higher previous rent (Vormiete) can also matter (§ 556e BGB).
No, furnishing does not create a blanket exemption. A reasonable furnishing surcharge can, however, make the calculation more complex.
The state can issue a new regulation or change the designated area until 31.12.2029 at the latest. For the legal assessment, what counts is the rule in force when your tenancy began. If a regulation is about to expire, always check the latest position.
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