Berlin, July 3 – The Berlin House of Representatives has approved a new law, the “Housing Space Security Law” (Wohnraumsicherungsgesetz), which will introduce a city-wide rent register utilizing artificial intelligence to combat rent exploitation. The landmark decision, passed yesterday, July 2, 2026, marks a significant step in the city’s efforts to regulate its strained housing market.
Berlin Abgeordnetenhaus Votes on Rental Law
The draft law, which had already passed a first reading and undergone deliberation by relevant committees, received support from the governing CDU-SPD coalition and the Greens. The Left Party abstained, while the AfD voted against the measure. Following its passage, Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) is expected to promulgate the law within two weeks.
What is the “Wohnraumsicherungsgesetz”?
Under the new law, local government will establish a comprehensive rent register (Mietenkataster) encompassing 1.75 million flats across Berlin. Landlords will be granted a 12-month period after the law takes effect to input detailed information about their rental properties into the register.
The required information includes:
- Rental address and floor level
- Size of the rental space
- The number of rooms and any furniture
- The anonymized names of the landlord and tenant
- The number of occupants
- The issue date of any certificate of eligibility for subsidized housing, if applicable
- Rental contract start date and agreed length
- Rent amount charged before utility bills
- Outline of utility charges: overheads, water bills, and heating
- Information on when the flat was last modernised and its current state
- Proportion of property tax
Landlords who fail to register the required information within the 12-month timeframe will face fines of up to 10,000 euros. Repeated non-compliance could result in fines reaching up to 100,000 euros.
Carsten Brückner, chairman of the landlord association Haus & Grund, noted that landlords would be able to refuse to provide information relevant to criminal proceedings. However, authorities would still be able to investigate such cases, for example, by directly contacting tenants for information.
AI to Identify Rent Exploitation
The primary objective of consolidating this extensive data is to empower local authorities to more easily identify and act upon instances of rent exploitation. Germany already has a “Mietpreisbremse” (rent brake) law, which limits rent increases in areas with strained housing markets to no more than 10 percent above the “local comparative rent.” However, this nationwide law, introduced in 2015, has been criticized for numerous loopholes, making it challenging for tenants to challenge illegally high rents.
The Berlin Rent Price Review Office (Mietpreisprüfstelle), established in 2025, found that 94 percent of the 340 rental contracts it reviewed that year involved landlords charging illegally high rents. While tenants currently have to report suspected violations, the mandatory rent register is expected to automate this process.
Housing Senator Christian Gaebler (SPD) explained to rbb, “If you analyse [the rent register] using AI, you can – regardless of whether a tenant notices it themselves – see whether the rent is likely to be too high.” The CDU-SPD coalition hopes that the initial 12-month registration window will encourage landlords to proactively reduce rents to legal limits.
If the law is promulgated, Berlin will become the first federal state in Germany to implement a centralized, digital rent register.
Impact on Tenants and Landlords
For tenants, the new law is expected to provide greater transparency and protection against excessive rents. The automated identification of violations could significantly reduce the burden on individual tenants to challenge unfair practices.
Landlords, on the other hand, will face stricter scrutiny and increased accountability. The substantial fines for non-compliance underscore the seriousness with which the city intends to enforce the new regulations. While some landlord associations have expressed concerns, the city views the measure as essential for ensuring fair housing practices.
This initiative from Berlin comes amidst a broader discussion about housing affordability and tenant rights across Germany. Similar efforts to strengthen rent control and improve transparency are being considered in other major cities facing similar housing market pressures.
Source: IamExpat Media, Berlin House of Representatives, Housing Senator Christian Gaebler (SPD), Haus & Grund landlord association
