FAQ

The cap limit defines the upper limit of a possible rent increase, in case the landlord tries to justify the increased rent by using the local rent index. The cap limit states that rent is not to be increased above 20% over a 3 year period. In many communities and cities, for example in Hamburg, München, Stuttgart, Köln, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt a. M., the cap limit is 15%.

If we issue a protection letter to you, you’re protected against the costs of mandating one of our contract lawyers from LexFox GmbH. If your landlord tries to sue for your consent to the rent increase, you’re also protected against having to refund possible process expenses (lawyer and court fees). Simply send us the protection letter, together with the signed mandate, back to us and we start working on your case immediately.

Yes. If an out-of-court settlement is impossible to achieve and we believe your chances for winning in court are promising, we will lodge a complaint in court. Of course, we cover all court expenses.

Yes there are, since the law’s legislators also wanted to take landlords’ interests into account. Here they are: 1. New buildings which were first rented out after October 1st 2014. 2. New contracts after a so-called ‘complete modernization’ - important to note: the cost of the modernization must be at least a third of the cost required for a comparable new housing development. If the landlord only orders new isolated windows or installs a new kitchen, that would be considered insufficient. The landlord has to prove all costs for the modernization. Many landlords try to use this exception for their advantage, but fail to have any evidence for their claims. Therefore, it’s worth demanding such evidence. If you want to, wenigermiete.de does this for you. 3. The previous tenant already paid a rent that was higher than the permissible/allowed maximum rent. If this is the case, the landlord can ask for the exact same rent as the previous one. This means that the rent can only be reduced to the level of the previous tenant’s rent. Please note: the previous rent is only relevant if the previous tenant moved in and lived in the apartment before the day the rent control law was implemented (June 1st, 2015). wenigermiete.de will investigate all this for you, so you don’t have to worry about it.

We only get paid if we were successfully lower your rent. If we are not successful, you pay nothing. Our fee is 4x the amount we reduced your monthly rental cost by (inclusive of VAT). Usually, you do not pay anything directly to us. Our fee comes from the security deposit you have already paid to your landlord. As your rent is reduced, your needed security deposit is also reduced, and your landlord will pay the extra (which works out as 4x your new monthly savings) directly to us.

Mietpreisbremse is a rent control law that was implemented in almost all federal states of Germany since June 2015 (not yet in Saarland, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt). The law states that landlords are not allowed to overcharge their tenants rent. Rent prices can only be a maximum of 10% higher than the locally-decided limit. Tenants who are overcharged by their landlords can demand their rent be reduced to fall in line with the prices set by the law. With wenigermiete.de, they can do this easily, stress-free and without cost risk. Mietpreisbremse is a rent control law that was implemented in almost all federal states of Germany since June 2015 (not yet in Saarland, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt). The law states that landlords are not allowed to overcharge their tenants rent. Rent prices can only be a maximum of 10% higher than the locally-decided limit. Tenants who are overcharged by their landlords can demand their rent be reduced to fall in line with the prices set by the law. With wenigermiete.de, they can do this easily, stress-free and without cost risk.