Fotо: ausnews.de
The new database will contain information on approximately 1.75 million apartments, according to Prian. Owners will have 12 months to register their properties. They will be required to provide the address, square footage, floor level, number of rooms, rent amount, utility bills, the date the lease was signed, details on repairs and renovations, and the number of residents. The personal data of tenants and owners will be anonymized.
It will not be possible to ignore the new requirements. Refusal to provide information is punishable by a fine of up to 10,000 euros, and for repeat violations, the amount may rise to 100,000 euros.
The main goal of the new registry is to combat excessive rent prices. Germany already has the Mietpreisbremse (“rent brake”) law in place, which caps rent prices in cities with housing shortages. However, in practice, it is not easy to prove a violation: typically, it is up to the tenant to identify the problem and report it to the regulatory authorities on their own.
Now the authorities want to change this approach. Berlin’s Senator for Housing, Christian Gebler, stated that data from the new registry will be analyzed using artificial intelligence. The system will be able to automatically identify apartments where rent likely exceeds the legal limit, even if tenants have not filed complaints.
The ruling coalition expects that the mere prospect of inspections will prompt many landlords to voluntarily lower their rents to the legal limit even before the registration process is complete.
If the law is finally adopted and signed by Mayor Kai Wegner, Berlin will become the first federal state in Germany to introduce a centralized digital registry of all rental apartments.
