IMore and more apartments in Germany are rented out furnished. This emerges from a special evaluation by the Federal Institute for Building, Urban and Spatial Research (BBSR) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Building, from which the newspapers of the Funke media group quoted on Saturday. The rent to be paid for the furnished apartments is often significantly higher than the normal rent.
According to the information, the proportion of publicly advertised apartments that were offered furnished was still around 3.5 percent in 2009 and 2014. This corresponded to 32,000 to 38,000 apartments per year. In 2021, the number had risen to around 114,000 advertisements – so furnished apartments accounted for around 13 percent of all apartments offered via internet portals and online newspapers.
According to the study, more than every fifth apartment (21 percent) is now offered furnished in the independent cities with at least 500,000 inhabitants – in 2016 it was five percent less. In Munich and Stuttgart, around 30 percent of all new apartments to be rented are advertised furnished. On average, the net cold rent in these cities is just under EUR 19.90 per square meter. For unfurnished apartments, it is around eleven euros per square meter.
The Federal Building Ministry is concerned
The Federal Building Ministry views the development with concern. “Furnished apartments are becoming a real price driver, especially in large cities. The surcharges for the furniture are often not transparent and difficult for tenants to understand,” Parliamentary State Secretary Cansel Kiziltepe (SPD) told the Funke newspapers. Living space that is only rented out temporarily does not fall under the rental price brake.
“Here we see a need for action to strengthen tenant protection,” announced Kiziltepe. Tenants of furnished apartments must be able to check the appropriateness customary in the location. “For example, the costs for furnishing could be shown separately and limited. This prevents misuse and creates transparency.”
For its investigation, the BBSR evaluated data from real estate platforms and internet offers from daily newspapers for first-time and re-letting of apartments.