Berlin-Moabit (Huttenstraße) – rent reduced from €723 to €690 and €779 repaid
Date Published
A 59.80 m² two-room period apartment in Berlin-Moabit had been let since November 2024 at a net cold rent of €723.50, or €12.10/m². Under the Berlin rent index 2024 the flat is in a simple residential location; our review of the dwelling-quality criteria produced a permissible maximum rent of €655.83.
The landlord relied on the prior rent and on modernisation carried out before the tenancy began. Neither succeeded. Anyone who wants to justify a higher rent on modernisation must inform the tenant of that, unsolicited and in text form, before the contract is concluded. An oral remark at the viewing is not enough. The exception was therefore barred (§ 556g para. 1a sentence 2 BGB) – regardless of whether and to what extent modernisation actually took place. The claimed modernisation surcharge of around €228 per month was off the table.
Within a few weeks of our objection an out-of-court settlement was reached. The net cold rent falls retrospectively from the start of the tenancy to €689.63. In addition there are €677.40 of overpaid rent for 20 months, €101.61 of overpaid deposit and substantial assumption of the out-of-court legal costs. The repayment was paid in full to the tenant, neither assigned nor retained as a commission.
Exceptions to the rent cap often fail in practice on their formal requirements. Anyone who objects within the first 30 months after the tenancy begins can usually reclaim overpaid rent since the start of the tenancy (§ 556g para. 2 BGB).
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