Saxony extends rent freeze

Saxony wants to extend the rent freeze until mid-2027. The cabinet released the draft for a corresponding regulation for consultation after its meeting in Dresden. The existing regulation expires at the end of this year. It only applies to the cities of Dresden and Leipzig, where the housing market is particularly tight. Under this regulation, the rent at the start of the tenancy may not exceed the local comparative rent by more than ten percent.

Minister sees fair balance between tenant protection and property

"By extending the rent freeze, we are creating a fair balance between tenant protection and constitutionally protected property in tight housing markets. But it is also clear that we need more investment in housing. Because only by building more will the housing markets ease in the long term and instruments such as the rent freeze become superfluous," emphasized Regina Kraushaar (CDU), the Infrastructure Minister responsible for housing policy.

According to Kraushaar, an external expert report will comprehensively examine the situation of the housing market in the entire state. The results are expected to be available by late summer 2026. This will initially create a solid data basis for targeted action, he said. On this basis, the state government will then decide whether and to what extent rent control and a lower rent cap are still necessary.

Kraushaar: Rent control cannot be a permanent solution

"Rent control cannot be a permanent solution," Kraushaar clarified. According to the law, the state governments should primarily have taken measures to counteract the tightening of the housing markets. The rent cap should only be used to supplement and bridge the gap. Only the construction of apartments would ultimately really relieve the tight situation on the housing markets. However, investors must be able to finance the construction of new apartments.

The Greens criticized the fact that Saxony is not making use of the time available to extend the rent cap. "The federal government has made the extension until 2029 possible. The CDU is missing the opportunity in the Free State to give people in their rental apartments longer-term security," criticized Thomas Löser, member of the state parliament.

The extension does not go far enough for the Left Party either. "We are calling for sanctions against owners, for example in the form of high fines as in the case of the rent usury paragraph and state control bodies. Another effective instrument would be a nationwide rent cap that would be effective in areas with a tight housing market and define rent caps, for example," explained Left Party politician Juliane Nagel.