Hamburg, September 17, 2026 – The housing market in Hamburg is facing an alarming crisis, with shared apartment (WG) rooms being offered at exorbitant prices, reaching almost 100 euros per square meter. The association ‘Mieter helfen Mietern’ (Tenants Help Tenants) has brought these shocking figures to light, calling for urgent measures to combat what they describe as rampant rent gouging.
Exorbitant Prices for Small Spaces
The latest example highlighted by the association involves a furnished nine-square-meter room in Detlev-Bremer-Straße in St. Pauli, advertised for a cold rent of 895 euros per month. This translates to an astonishing 99.44 euros per square meter, a price typically associated with entire apartments, not single rooms.
Kolja Rosemann from ‘Mieter helfen Mietern’ stated, “This is just the tip of the iceberg of rental madness. WG rooms in Hamburg are becoming increasingly expensive.”
Further Examples of Skyrocketing Rents
The association’s findings reveal that this is not an isolated incident. Another example includes a furnished 15-square-meter room in Brandstwiete in the Old Town, offered for nearly 1,300 euros, equating to 86 euros per square meter. Even unfurnished spaces are not immune to these inflated prices, with an empty 7.5-square-meter attic room in Glashüttenstraße in the Karoviertel being advertised for 700 euros a month.
‘Tenants Help Tenants’ Demands Tough Measures
Kolja Rosemann of ‘Mieter helfen Mietern’ views the situation as a failure of the state. “The Hamburg Senate, by tolerating the current state of the housing market, is destroying the trust of all Hamburg residents in our legal system,” he asserted. The association is demanding tough measures to be implemented against rent gouging.
Housing Market Under Pressure
The pressure on Hamburg’s rental housing market continues to intensify. A growing demand for housing is met with a dwindling supply of available apartments. This imbalance is particularly evident in the competition for cooperative apartments, where an average of 88 applications are received for each vacant unit, with small apartments being especially sought after.
The situation is further exacerbated by a projected decline in new housing completions. Compared to 2024, approximately 6,000 new apartments are expected to be completed in Hamburg in 2025, representing a 28 percent decrease. Urban Development Senator Pein attributes this to the delayed effects of the construction crisis.
Broader Housing Issues in Hamburg
The issue of rent gouging is part of a larger set of housing challenges facing Hamburg. Recent reports indicate that despite prohibitions, hundreds of kilometers of lead pipes are still in use in Hamburg, posing health risks to residents. The city is also exploring initiatives like the ‘Hamburg Standard’ to build more affordable housing, a model that Federal Minister for Building, Klara Geywitz, recently visited in Marienthal to consider for national implementation.
These developments underscore the urgent need for comprehensive solutions to address the multifaceted housing crisis in Hamburg, ensuring fair and accessible housing for all residents.
Source: https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/hamburg/100-euro-pro-quadratmeter-mietwucher-bei-wg-zimmern-in-hamburg,mieten-136.html
