Initiative threatens to fail
FDP does not want to punish usury more severely
4/11/2022 1:13 am
The federal states want landlords to find it more difficult to enforce overpriced rents in the tense housing markets. In the government, the SPD and the Greens are in favor of it. However, the project met with little approval from the FDP.
A Federal Council proposal for higher penalties for rent extortion meets with opposition from the FDP within the federal government. According to a report in the “Bild” newspaper, Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann recommends rejecting the initiative in a cabinet bill due to “concerns”. The Ministry of Economic Affairs, led by the Greens, and the Ministry of Construction, led by the SPD, had approved the proposal from the Department of Justice. The other departments therefore raised no objection.
In February, the Bundesrat approved a bill at the request of Bavaria and Brandenburg by a majority. According to this, rent usury should be combated more vigorously and a higher fine for landlords of up to 100,000 euros can be imposed for unreasonably expensive rents. It should also be easier for tenants to prove rent extortion. It should be enough that the agreed rent exceeds the local rental costs by 20 percent and that the supply of apartments is low.
According to the current legal situation, a tenant must first prove that he has searched in vain for an apartment and that the landlord is exploiting this situation with overpriced rents. The Bundesrat had already introduced a similar draft law to the Bundestag in 2019. Since the deliberations before the Bundestag elections were not yet complete, the draft had to be resubmitted.
Bavaria’s Minister of Justice Georg Eisenreich told the “Bild” newspaper that exorbitant rents must be combated more vigorously. Many landlords acted responsibly, but the black sheep among them did not deserve protection. According to the CSU politician, he has no understanding for the blockade by the federal government. “Obviously Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann does not take the concerns of tenants seriously,” said Eisenreich.