Rent index reform increasingly urgent

Rent indexes are gaining immense importance because the development of rents is reaching maximum limits, especially in the big cities. Even well-off households no longer earn enough everywhere to be able to pay for an adequate flat. 

However, the rent index in its current form is not suitable as a benchmark and instrument - for example, in the case of rent increase requests to implement legal rules. 

The German Association of Cities and Towns (Deutscher Städtetag), the Association of German Urban Statisticians (Verband Deutscher Städtestatistiker, VDSt) and the gif Gesellschaft für Immobilienwirtschaftliche Forschung therefore welcome the planned Rent Index Reform Act (Mietspiegelreformgesetz, MsRG). Of particular importance are the regulations for so-called qualified rent indexes. Above all, the planned obligation to provide information for tenants and landlords as well as the clarification of data protection issues should facilitate the preparation of qualified rent indices, improve quality and at the same time reduce costs.

It has been criticised for a long time that the compilation of rent indices is not always sufficiently objective and is also sometimes influenced by political requirements.

Without the cooperation of tenants' and landlords' representatives, it is not possible to obtain statistically reliable values. The compromise solutions found in the past contradict the scientific claim of qualified rent indices and are also not compatible with their significance in tenancy law or other areas of law such as social or tax law. 

Currently, there are no legally regulated requirements for the expertise of the rent index compilers. This does not correspond to the importance of qualified representative lists of rents for broad sections of the population. The quality and thus acceptance and legal certainty of representative lists of rents can only be decisively improved if independence and expertise are ensured from the outset. 

(Photo: © Marketa Machova, Pixabay)