BERLIN, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 7 million tenant households in Germany are overburdened by housing costs, according to a study commissioned by the German Tenants' Association which was released on Wednesday.
These households account for about one-third of all tenant households in the country. Among them, around 3.2 million spend more than 40 percent of their net income on housing costs.
The burden is particularly acute among low-income renters. Of Germany's nearly 20 million tenant households, 42 percent, or 8.3 million, are in the lowest third of the income distribution, with an average monthly net household income of 1,417 euros (1,642 U.S. dollars). This group was at its "financial limit" due to its housing costs, said the study.
The analysis is based on income and rent data from the latest microcensus conducted in 2022. Figures were updated using the latest available 2024 data from the Federal Statistical Office.
The study found that rising rents are increasing the housing cost burden for many households, particularly those that have moved recently.
"Rents under contracts signed from 2020 onwards are, on average, around 21 percent higher than under older leases," said the study, adding that households that moved in from 2020 onwards face a significantly higher housing cost burden, at 33 percent, than those that moved in before 2020.
The impact is especially pronounced in large cities. In Berlin, rents paid by households that moved in from 2020 onwards are, on average, 29 percent higher than the average rental agreements in the country.
The study said widening gaps between old and new rents in metropolitan areas were creating a "lock-in effect," discouraging tenants on lower-rent contracts from moving.
"The spiral of ever-rising rents must be stopped. To that end, the federal government must introduce the planned tougher penalties for rent gouging, strengthen rent control rules and impose substantial fines on violations, so that tenants are finally protected from unlawful rent increases," said Melanie Weber-Moritz, president of the German Tenants' Association. ■