Berlin-Moabit (Rostocker Straße) – Rent Reduced from €270 to €215 and €1,000 Repayment
Date Published
In a case handled by our firm in Berlin-Moabit (Rostocker Straße), the monthly net cold rent for an approximately 30 m² apartment was reduced out of court within a few weeks from €270 to €215.
The tenancy has been in place since October 2024. The agreed rent corresponds to a per-square-metre price of approximately €9/m² and is therefore significantly higher than the permissible level under the Berlin rent index. Taking into account the specific residential location (simple location) and the relevant property features, the local comparative rent works out at around €6.33/m². Together with the statutory new letting surcharge of 10%, this results in a maximum permissible net cold rent of €208.19 per month.
The monthly overpayment amounts to around €62, which has resulted in a corresponding cumulative overpayment since the start of the tenancy. Including an excessive rental deposit, the repayment claim totalled around €1,000.
The formal rent cap objection was validly raised. As no response was initially forthcoming from the landlord, a further demand was made to reduce the rent and repay the overpaid amounts. At the same time, comprehensive disclosure of any exception grounds was requested, in particular regarding a possible prior tenancy rent and any modernisation measures carried out.
Particular importance attaches in this case to the specific positioning within the relevant rent index range. While some property-value-relevant features are to be assessed as neutral or positive, the negative features overall predominate – particularly regarding the condition of the building and the residential environment – resulting in a significant downward adjustment within the rent index range.