Berlin's rent register is now law. Enforcement comes next.

When REFIRE reported on Berlin's proposed rent register two months ago, the central question was whether it would survive long enough to become law. On 3 July, that question was answered. The Berlin House of Representatives passed the Housing Security Act, incorporating the Mietenkataster into enacted legislation and making Berlin the first German state to introduce a comprehensive, mandatory register covering its entire rental housing stock. The CDU and SPD voted in favour; the Greens and Left abstained, calling for more far-reaching measures; the AfD voted against, arguing the register would not identify the bad actors it targets. The debate has therefore moved on, from principle to implementation.

The constitutional questions remain, and legal challenges now appear all but inevitable. But for landlords and investors, the immediate issue is no longer whether the register should exist. It is what compliance now requires, and how Berlin intends to use the information it collects.