Tenant protection in NRW: New rules for 57 cities from March 2025!

Tenant protection in NRW: New rules for 57 cities from March 2025!

In North Rhine-Westphalia, the rental price regulation is significantly expanded. From March 1, 2025, new regulations apply in 57 municipalities with a tense housing market, which will have major effects for tenants and landlords. So far, the tenant protection ordinance was only in 18 out of a total of 396 municipalities in NRW. The black and green state government has decided in the coalition agreement to re-enforce the tenant protection regulation based on an expert opinion on the tense housing market, such as

The new regulations limit the rent increase potential in existing rental contracts to a maximum of 15 percent within three years instead of the usual 20 percent. In the case of newly concluded contracts, landlords are only allowed to request the rent by 10 percent above the local comparison rent. In addition, the locking period is extended to eight years if rental apartments are converted into condominiums, compared to the legally defined three years.

The extended tenant protection ordinance affects a large number of cities, including Aachen, Cologne, Dortmund and many more. One can currently say that the regulation will be effective by February 28, 2030. This represents an important step in NRW's rent policy. NRW building minister Ina Scharrenbach has also called for greater federal law efforts to prevent abuse by usury and initiated joint advances in the Federal Council for revision of the rental usury.

The basic requirements and areas of application of these tenant protection regulations were already determined in 2020 and include areas in which the adequate care of the population is at risk. According to Recht.nrw.de the current regulation started on July 1, 2025.

background to the rental price brake

The introduction of the rental price brake in 2015 aimed to prevent excessive landlord claims when re -letting. According to the regulations, landlords may request the usual comparison rent plus 10 percent in the event of reimbursement, although these regulations contain exceptions such as new buildings or extensively renovated apartments, such as Tenantbund

In Germany, the rental price brake applies in 13 out of 16 federal states, although it remains valid by December 31, 2025, provided no extension is decided. After this date, rents are again determined according to the laws of the free market, which could potentially lead to further increasing rental costs. These changes are particularly important for the 26 million people in the already tense housing markets.