Overview
- The Berlin state parliament has passed the Wohnraumsicherungsgesetz, creating a central Mietenkataster to record rental data such as address, living area, room count, net cold rent and ancillary-cost composition for nearly all city rentals.
- Landlords and property managers will be legally required to submit data once the register is activated, but they will have a one-year grace period before entries become mandatory and may refuse to provide information that would self-incriminate.
- Submitted records will undergo a central, AI-supported preliminary review by the Senatsbauverwaltung, and flagged anomalies will generate notices to landlords and referrals to agencies such as the Bürgerdienste offices or the public prosecutor.
- The register will not be public; only authorities will access the data for investigations and enforcement, and failures to report can trigger fines while recorded refusals will be passed to enforcement bodies.
- Supporters say the system will expose unlawful rent hikes and improve oversight, critics including landlord associations warn of legal and privacy risks, and the measure is likely to prompt court challenges as it is rolled out.