Figures released on Monday by the Germany Tenants’ Association (DMB) revealed a sharp rise in lawsuits over rent increases. Rent hikes were the second most common reason for legal disputes between tenants and landlords in 2025.
The figures also provide evidence that tenants are increasingly willing to fight for fair treatment in a rental market which is becoming more and more difficult to navigate.
The DMB based their 2025 figures on data collected from their legal protection insurance provider, then extrapolated these findings to estimate trends across the wider German rental market to provide a detailed snapshot of the most common reasons tenants and landlords ended up in court last year
What do the figures show?
The number one cause for legal disputes between tenants and landlords in 2025 is described by the DMB as “general breaches of contract” (28.4 percent of the total), which covers everything from pet policies to repairs.
The proportion of lawsuits between tenants and landlords specifically over rent increases rose from 17.4 percent in 2024 to 21.8 percent in 2025.
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Operating costs, such as disputes over heating bills or service charges, was the third most common cause of legal disputes at 16.4 percent.
Other significant causes of disputes in 2025 included issues over rental deposits (15.7 percent), contract terminations for “personal use” (6.8 percent) and terminations without notice (4.9 percent).
The demand for advice on contract terminations for reasons of personal use (Eigenbedarf) has surged by 30 to 50 percent in recent years. According to the Tenants' Association, there is reportedly reason to suspect that claims of personal use are being used as a pretext in about half of these cases.
Looking at the broader picture, Germany's statistics office reported nearly 197,000 tenancy law cases in 2024 – an increase of almost eight percent from the previous year.
While the 2025 total isn’t yet available, the trend is clear: legal wrangling over rental issues is on the rise.
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Why is the number of legal disputes increasing?
The President of the Tenants’ Association, Melanie Weber-Moritz, attributed the surge in rent-related lawsuits to mounting pressure on the rental housing market.
She also pointed to the lack of effective rent control in some cities where rents are rising by double digits, making it increasingly difficult for ordinary households to keep up.
“Already, one in three tenant households is overburdened by their housing costs. This development must be stopped urgently,” she said in a press release.
It also may be that tenants – under increasing pressure in today’s market – are becoming more aware of their rights and more inclined to exercise them. New digital tools and apps are making it easier for tenants to check if their rent is above the legal threshold.
In Berlin alone, a rent-check app developed by the Left Party was used over 200,000 times in 2025, revealing that two-thirds of checked rents were at least 20 percent above the local average and therefore illegal. The app is now operational in 28 German cities.
Another possible reason for the rise in litigation was hinted at last November in another report by the DMB: The current state of the rental market no longer affects only the poorest households in Germany, but is also reportedly having a profound impact on the middle class, who are better positioned to have the tie and resources to seek legal advice
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How Germany’s rental market is evolving
Germany still has the highest proportion of residents living in rented housing in Europe, and the number of people living in rented homes keeps climbing – especially among families, larger households and those on lower incomes.
But according to the DMB’s 2025 Rent Report, released last November, the situation is becoming increasingly tough for many.
Families are reportedly being hit hardest by rising rents and a lack of space. At the same time, wealthier households often have more space than they need, while poorer tenants are packed into cramped conditions – highlighting how inefficient the housing market has become.
According to the DMB report, nearly a third of tenants now fear they won’t be able to pay their rent in the future. Many people in this situation note that they are prevented from moving due to high rents on the market, a shortage of available flats and the cost of moving.
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