Berlin Rent Index 2026: Key Findings and Highest Costs

Berlin tenants pay an average of 7.71 euros per square meter per month in net cold rent for their apartment – 50 cents more than two years ago. This is according to the Berlin Rent Index 2026, published by the Senate Department for Urban Development on Thursday. This means that rents have increased by an average of 6.9 percent since 2024. However, there are major differences depending on building age, apartment size, and location.

Rents in East German Prefabricated Buildings Have Risen Sharply in Some Cases

Particularly striking is that rents have risen sharply in formerly comparatively affordable GDR-era prefabricated apartment buildings in good locations and with good amenities – for example on Fischerinsel in Berlin-Mitte. In the “1973–1990 East” construction age category, the upper value rose from 6.47 to 9.65 euros per square meter (+49.1 percent) for family-sized apartments larger than 85 square meters.

Nevertheless, the lowest rents in Berlin can still be found in prefabricated buildings from the GDR era. At the lower end of the range in simple residential locations, apartments larger than 100 square meters are listed at 5.11 euros per square meter, while apartments between 60 and 100 square meters are listed at 5.20 euros per square meter. Even in good locations, there are still prefabricated apartments rented out for 5.26 euros.

Particularly Expensive: New Buildings in Good Locations

Even though rents in East German prefabricated buildings have risen sharply in some cases, Berliners pay the highest rents in good residential locations in buildings completed between 2020 and 2024. For apartments smaller than 60 square meters, the new rent index shows the absolute maximum value of 27.84 euros per square meter per month – 3.10 euros, or 16.8 percent, more than two years ago (2024: 24.74 EUR/m²).

New buildings completed between 2020 and 2024 show the highest increases across all residential locations. The upper values in average and good residential locations consistently exceed the 20-euro mark. Rent levels in the 2016–2019 construction age categories also almost universally show significantly higher prices than those of the older categories.

Rent Brake: New Buildings from 2014 Onward Continue to Remain Exempt

The reason is that since the rent brake was introduced in 2015, all apartments completed in 2014 or later have continued to be regarded as new construction – meaning the rent brake does not apply to them.

The rent brake stipulates that for a new tenancy, the local comparative rent shown in the rent index may be exceeded by no more than ten percent. Urban Development Senator Christian Gaebler is also dissatisfied with the fact that it does not apply to everything built from 2014 onward. “It is due to federal legislation that these periods are not being adjusted – I view this critically,” Gaebler said in response to a question from the Berliner Morgenpost.

Rents for Apartments Built from 2010 to 2015 in Average Locations Have Declined

Nevertheless, there are – albeit only a few – categories in which rents declined. This applies, for example, to apartments between 70 and 95 square meters in average residential locations that were built between 2010 and 2015. The mean value is now listed at 11.39 euros; in 2024, it was still 12.05 euros per square meter per month.

At the presentation of the Rent Index 2026, Urban Development Senator Christian Gaebler (SPD) emphasized “that with the Berlin Rent Index 2026, a qualified rent index comes into force that has been recognized by all members of the Rent Index Working Group.”

This was not always the case in previous years, as property owners’ associations had at times refused to give their approval.

Housing Value Features Drive Rents Significantly Higher

Nevertheless, criticism came from the Berlin Tenants’ Association (BMV) on Thursday.

At issue is the large gap between the mean value and the upper value, which is based on so-called “rent-enhancing housing value features.” These include, for example, an 80-centimeter-wide washbasin or a ceramic cooktop.

For a 60- to 85-square-meter apartment in a good location, the gap between the mean value (17.23 EUR/m²) and the upper value (26.05 EUR/m²) can amount to as much as 8.82 euros per square meter, Wibke Werner, managing director of the Berlin Tenants’ Association, cited as an example.

“The high upper values are largely due to new rentals agreed within the last six years – not a few of them in violation of the rent brake,” Werner said, summing up her assessment.

Many Residential Locations Have Been Reassessed

The classification of residential locations has also been reassessed in many parts of the city.

A total of 25,000 addresses were upgraded to a higher residential category, while 23,000 were downgraded to a lower one. Overall, twelve percent of all addresses were newly classified.

This particularly affected the districts of Treptow-Köpenick (18 percent of addresses were reclassified, mostly downgraded) and Marzahn-Hellersdorf (16 percent upgraded, three percent downgraded). In Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, too, 13 percent of addresses were upgraded and only three percent downgraded.

The Berlin Rent Index 2026, including the query service and explanations, is now available on the Senate Administration’s website at www.berlin.de/mietspiegel.

This article was originally written and published on the 28th of May in German. It was translated in English with the use of Artificial Intelligence.