Mietpreisbremse and Kappungsgrenze: rent control in Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen

What is new from 1 January 2026

The previous Tenant Protection Ordinance (Mieterschutzverordnung) expired on 31 December 2025. The Bavarian state government reissued it on 16 December 2025 on an updated data basis (press release of the Ministry of Justice); the new version came into force on 1 January 2026 and applies until the end of 2029.

Its scope has grown considerably: from 208 to 285 towns and municipalities. Most of the increase is in the Munich area and the Oberland. For the Nuremberg metropolitan region, nothing changes in principle — Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen were already covered and still are, as are several municipalities in the Nürnberger Land district and Herzogenaurach.

The three rules at a glance

Rent brake on new lets

max. +10% above reference rent

Cap in existing tenancies

15% instead of 20% over 3 years

Notice ban after conversion

10 instead of 3 years

Ordinance in force

1 Jan 2026 to 31 Dec 2029

Municipalities covered in Bavaria

285

All three apply only in the designated municipalities. They are connected but legally separate: the rent brake concerns signing the lease, the cap concerns the ongoing tenancy, and the notice ban concerns a sale after conversion.

Rent brake: the calculation for a new let

At the start of a new tenancy, the rent may exceed the local reference rent (ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete) by no more than ten per cent (§ 556d BGB). In Nuremberg, the reference rent is based on the rent index (Mietenspiegel) — how to apply it is explained under Nuremberg rent index.

An example: if the rent index gives a local reference rent of €10.50 per square metre for a flat, the upper limit is €11.55. For 65 m², that is €750.75 net excluding heating. Anything agreed above that is void to that extent.

The exceptions are narrow and set out in § 556e and § 556f BGB:

Flats first used and let after 1 October 2014 are permanently outside the rent brake — including for every later re-let. So are comprehensively modernised flats, although “comprehensive” sets high requirements for scope and cost; a new kitchen and freshly painted walls are not enough. And a lawfully agreed higher previous rent may be kept.

If you rely on an exception, you must inform the tenant about it, unprompted, before the lease is signed. If you do not, you can no longer invoke the exception.

What an objection costs

If the tenant considers the rent too high, they object in text form (§ 556g BGB). If the objection is made within 30 months of the start of the tenancy and the tenancy is still ongoing, they can reclaim the difference from the start of the tenancy. With an overpayment of €100 a month, that adds up to €3,000 over two and a half years, plus the reduction for the future.

That is why a properly derived starting rent is not a formality. The ten per cent too much you push through at move-in can flow back as a lump sum two and a half years later.

The cap on increases: 15 per cent, and no banking

In existing tenancies, the rent may rise by no more than 15 per cent within three years (§ 558(3) BGB) — and never above the local reference rent. Both limits apply side by side; the lower one is decisive.

The period runs backwards from the date of the planned increase: the comparison is with the rent three years earlier, not with the last increase. Unused room is lost. If you have not raised the rent for six years, you may still only ask for 15 per cent, not 30.

Rent increases after modernisation under § 559 BGB are not affected by the cap — they follow their own rules and their own limits.

Longer notice ban after conversion

If a flat was already let when the building was converted into condominium ownership and is then sold, the buyer may only terminate the tenancy for personal use (Eigenbedarf) or commercial exploitation after a waiting period (§ 577a BGB). The basic statutory period is three years; in the areas covered by the Tenant Protection Ordinance it is ten years from the sale.

For buyers of let condominium flats in Nuremberg, this is the most important restriction of all in practice — and a point we check before taking on unit management (Sondereigentumsverwaltung). If you are buying with the idea “I will move in myself in two years”, have the notice ban checked before the notary appointment. More on this under selling a let condominium flat.

For landlords: what follows

The ordinance does not make letting in the region unattractive, but it shifts the lever. It no longer lies in the price on a new let — that is capped — but in short vacancies, low tenant turnover and consistently using the cap for existing tenants. That is exactly the work of rental management. Adjusting properly every three years instead of jumping once in ten years earns more over a cycle than waiting for the big jump.

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The list of municipalities is in the annex to the ordinance (GVBl. 2025 p. 718); the explanatory memorandum is published in the BayMBl. 2025 No. 558. Do not rely on older compilations — the scope changed in January 2026.