Juliane Nagel, a member of the Saxon state parliament from Leipzig, is calling on the state government to extend two rent controls that protect tenants in Leipzig and Dresden. According to the Leipziger Internet Zeitung, both rules will expire unless the government acts, and her party, Die Linke, wants a decision soon.
What happened
The Left Party group in the Sächsischer Landtag (the Saxon state parliament) wants the Staatsregierung (the Saxon state government) to extend the Mietpreisbremse until the end of 2029. This is the rent brake, which limits the rent a landlord can ask when a flat is let to a new tenant. The party also wants the government to extend the lowered Kappungsgrenze for Dresden and Leipzig until the middle of 2030. This is the cap on rent increases within an existing tenancy. The Leipziger Internet Zeitung reports that both instruments will otherwise expire.
Nagel speaks on housing policy for the Linksfraktion (the Left Party’s group in parliament) and also sits on Leipzig city council. She explained how the two rules work. Under the rent brake, landlords may ask at most ten percent more than the ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete, the typical local rent for comparable flats. Under the Saxon Kappungsgrenze regulation, rents in existing tenancies may rise by no more than 15 percent within three years.
She warned that without the rent brake, owners could raise rents on new contracts up to the point where Mietwucher (rent usury, which is illegal) begins. She said this would also push up the local price level recorded in the Mietspiegel, the official local rent index, which would in turn allow larger increases for people already in their flats.
The newspaper cites figures for Leipzig. The average advertised rent was most recently 9.26 euros per square metre, excluding heating and service charges. Ten years ago it was 5.49 euros, an increase the newspaper puts at 40 percent. Nagel said that in 2023 almost a fifth of tenant households in Leipzig spent more than 40 percent of their income on rent. Her party’s guideline is that nobody should have to spend more than 30 percent of their monthly income on rent.
What it means for you
If you rent in Leipzig, both protections apply to you now. When you sign a new tenancy, the rent brake means your rent should not be more than ten percent above the typical local rent. If you already have a tenancy, the Kappungsgrenze limits increases to 15 percent over three years. If the rules lapse and are not renewed, those limits would no longer apply in this form.
The proposal also covers people outside the city. Die Linke wants the rules extended to more municipalities around Leipzig and Dresden where the housing market is tight. The source says rents in the surrounding areas are rising too, but it does not name the municipalities.
Nagel said that tenants currently have to enforce the rules themselves, and that people who have just found a flat rarely want a dispute with their landlord. Her party therefore wants a new independent body at state level that would check rental listings itself and could impose penalties.
Die Linke is also calling for wider changes to the rent brake:
- effective penalties for landlords who break the rules
- validity with no time limit and across the whole state
- coverage of modernised and furnished flats
- fewer exemptions for new builds, with only housing first ready for occupation from 2024 counting as new
For now, if you are signing a new lease, check the typical local rent for comparable flats in the Mietspiegel and compare it with the rent you are offered. If you receive a rent increase, check that it stays within 15 percent over three years.
What to watch next
The decision lies with the state government, which the source identifies as led by the CDU and SPD. Nagel said both parties should give tenant households in Saxony security for years to come. Watch for an announcement on whether the state will renew the rent brake and the Kappungsgrenze, for how long, and whether more towns around Leipzig will be included. The source gives no date for a government decision.
Source: Leipziger Internet Zeitung
Sources
- Leipziger Internet Zeitung: Leipziger Landtagsabgeordnete fordert: Die Staatsregierung muss Mietpreisbremse und Kappungsgrenze jetzt verlängern, accessed 27 October 2026
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