Deutsche Wohnen announces its own rental cover (Der Spiegel, 22 June 2019)

• Deutsche Wohnen announces its own rental cover

• Original headline in German: Deutsche Wohnen kündigt eigenen Mietendeckel an

• Published in Der Spiegel, 22 June 2019

• https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/deutsche-wohnen-kuendigt-eigenen-mietendeckel-an-a-1273822.html

• Summary from Google Translate:

  • Price cap and impending expropriation: Real estate companies like Deutsche Wohnen have recently come under pressure in Berlin. Now the company wants to defuse the discussion - with its own rules.

  • In the discussion about rapidly increasing rents, Deutsche Wohnen is approaching its critics: From 1 July 2019, rent increases would be limited so that a household would have to spend a maximum of 30% of its net income on the net cold rent, the real estate company announced on Saturday on its website.

  • This voluntary commitment applies both to rent increases based on the respective local rent index and to rent increases after modernizations. These measures are intended to take away the fear of tenants losing their homes. In addition, every fourth new apartment to be rented should be given to tenants who are entitled to a residence permit.

• Keywords: Germany, rental freeze, rental cover, rental cap, Deutsche Wohnen, affordability, big landlords

Interesting questions from today's perspective (June 2020): how was this voluntary policy actually implemented? What were its effects on the rental housing market in Germany?