Nuremberg rent index (Mietenspiegel): how to work out the right rent

What the rent index does — and what it does not

The Mietenspiegel does not set prices. It reflects what is actually paid for comparable flats in Nuremberg, and so serves as evidence of the local reference rent (ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete). For landlords it is by far the simplest way to justify a rent increase; for tenants it is the basis for fending off an excessive demand.

Because it is a qualified rent index, drawn up using recognised scientific methods and jointly recognised by the city and the landlord and tenant associations, it carries weight in court: its figures are presumed to reflect the local reference rent correctly. Anyone who wants to depart from it has to justify doing so.

Key data of the 2026 edition

Valid

1 August 2026 to 31 July 2028

Type

qualified, § 558d BGB

Average net rent excl. heating

€10.33/m² (2024: €9.65)

Change from 2024

+5.4%

Data source

“Leben in Nürnberg 2025” survey

The data source is the representative household survey “Leben in Nürnberg 2025”. The city provides the rent index together with an explanation of the method free of charge on the pages of its housing unit; printed copies are available at the central library and the citizens’ offices.

Where rents have really risen

The average hides the real movement. According to the City of Nuremberg, rents rose between 2024 and 2026 for all flat sizes up to 120 m² — but very unevenly:

• small flats of around 30 m²: up around 8 per cent, the strongest increase
• average across all sizes: around 5.4 per cent
• flats of 90 m² and more: under 2 per cent

For investors, that is the key message of the whole document. In Nuremberg, the return per square metre is currently made in the small segment — one- and two-room flats near the universities, not the large period apartment. For individual let units, unit management (Sondereigentumsverwaltung) takes care of this.

How to arrive at the local reference rent

The calculation works in stages. First, the monthly base net rent is read from the base table according to living space. Then percentage surcharges and deductions are applied for features of the building and the flat — year of construction, fittings, layout, location. Only the result of this calculation is the reference rent for your flat.

Two mistakes happen regularly. First, the living space is calculated wrongly: balconies, terraces and sloping ceilings only count in part. Second, surcharges are claimed that cannot be proven — “modern fittings” without evidence will not hold up in a dispute.

Deadlines for a rent increase under § 558 BGB

If the tenant does not agree, you have three months after the consideration period ends to sue for consent (§ 558b BGB). This is a preclusive deadline — if it passes, the request has to be made again. That can be done straight away, because the one-year period runs from the last effective increase, not from the failed request. The months in between, however, are lost.

A rent increase after modernisation under § 559 BGB follows different rules and is not covered by the cap. It can be combined with an increase under § 558 BGB, but not mixed with it.

What the rent index means for landlords with existing tenants

Many private landlords in Nuremberg charge existing tenants well below the local reference rent because they have not adjusted for years. The gap cannot be closed in one step: the cap on increases (Kappungsgrenze) limits the rise to 15 per cent over three years, however large the gap to the reference rent.

In practice, that means anyone who wants to catch up plans in cycles. An increase up to the cap every three years, each time properly justified and documented — tracking those deadlines is part of rental management. Anyone who waits ten years and then wants it all at once permanently gives away the intermediate steps — unused room under the cap cannot be made up later.

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Ravenica manages let condominium flats in Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen and handles rent adjustments, including justification, deadline tracking and following up on the tenant’s consent.