Overview
- SPD leaders said Monday they will put a rent-cap option on the federal agenda so states can choose to freeze or set rents.
- Any state cap would first need cabinet and Bundestag approval to overcome the Constitutional Court’s 2021 ruling that struck down Berlin’s cap on competence grounds.
- A rent cap would fix rents at a set level in hot markets and block further hikes, which is stricter than today’s rule that only limits increases when a flat is re-let.
- The CDU and business groups oppose the plan and warn it would further slow homebuilding during a deep construction slump.
- The SPD frames the cap as one pillar of a broader housing push that includes €24 billion for building through 2029, tighter tenant protections, and a new federal affordable-housing company.