Create meetup in Berlinchevron_right
Select a place on the map to change the location.
I want to meet
Verified required?
want to meet at fmd_good Riverwalk Center
want to meet at fmd_good Brew Lab
explore Berlin Guides
Berlin Hidden Gems (2026)
kirstin
Berlin on a Budget: Tips 2026
annette
Where to Stay in Berlin (2026)
frieda
3 Days in Berlin: Itinerary 2026
rabeakurth
Things to Do in Berlin (2026)
viktoria
Best Food in Berlin (2026)
bar_chart Trends in Berlin
Deutsche Wohnen has increased my rent - is it worth the fight?
Admittedly, my rent was relatively attractive, since it was a ~10 year old contract, BUT the building is not in such a great condition, as they claim it to be in their Vergleichsmietenberechnung. For one, it dates from the 1920's, the walls are so thin that I can hear my neighbours even when they're not very loud, and the squeaky wooden floor has not seen a renovation in decades. They even had the audacity to bump the points with a "bicycle storage", which in reality is a one single bicycle stand outside of the building. Not to mention that they are refusing to cooperate with Telekom in the installation of the fibre optic cable (could be that it's the Telekom who's bullshitting, you never know).
Given that it's a relatively small rent increase and (unfortunately) within the legal upper limit of Mietpreisspanne and the fact that DW is a big company who probably knows what they're doing, is it worth the hassle to revolt?
I have time, money and I'm not going anywhere (the contract is unbefristet). On the other hand, if the odds for winning this are small and I might risk it with problems, such as legal issues/costs or even eviction, I'd rather pass. But ultimately, I'm not sure what to expect exactly. Was anyone in a similar situation?
I've heard successful stories about Conny but also that it does take a lot of time to settle. Since it can take months, does it make a difference if I sign the Zustimmungserklarung before the deadline, or only after I'm forced by the court?
yeah 50 euros a month is annoying but honestly the bigger issue here is that if you just roll over now, they'll keep testing the waters with bigger increases later. dw has a pattern of doing small bumps first to see who pushes back.
the mietpreisbremse website has a free rechner where you can plug in their vglmietenberechnung and see if they fudged any numbers. also check if your building is in the milieuschutzgebiet map on the bezirksamt site - if it is, they need extra approval for certain modernisierungen.
for the zustimmung thing, just don't sign it. you have until the end of the month to object and then they need to take you to court to enforce it. i know someone who let it drag for 14 months before dw finally gave up and offered a compromise. the court costs for them are way more than what they'd get from you.
the bike storage point is actually a solid thing to fight on since berlin courts have ruled that a single outdoor rack doesn't count as proper fahrradabstellplatz. join the mieterverein for 90 euros, they'll write the widerspruch for you and it's worth it just for the peace of mind.
honestly, for that small of an increase and with dw being so big, the practical odds of getting a win through conny or a lawyer are pretty low. they know the mietspiegel inside out and will just adjust their calculation to be legally bulletproof if you push back.
the one thing that might matter is the zustimmung. if you sign it, you're agreeing to the increase and they can start charging it immediately. if you don't sign, they have to sue you to enforce it, which takes months and costs them money. you can just ignore the letter, keep paying your old rent, and wait to see if they actually take you to court. most likely they won't for 50 euros a month.
also, the bicycle storage thing is a classic dw move. you could try to argue that point specifically with the mieterverein - it costs like 90 euros a year to join and they'll look at your case for free. but i'd only bother if you're really determined to make a point, not for the money
ngl 50 euros a month adds up over time but the real win here is psychological. i fought dw over a similar increase a couple years back and ended up getting them to drop the bike storage point and the "modernisiert" claim for old windows that were still drafty as hell. it took about 8 months but i paid zero extra during that time and they eventually settled for the old rent plus 2% instead of the 6% they wanted.
the key thing nobody mentions is that dw's internal processes are a mess. if you send a detailed widerspruch listing specific defects (thin walls, squeaky floors, no real bike storage) their system flags it and it often sits in limbo for months. meanwhile you keep paying the old rate. they won't evict you over this, that's basically impossible in berlin for a rent increase dispute as long as you keep paying something.
signing the zustimmung locks you in so definitely don't do that. just write a polite letter saying you disagree with the calculation and list 3-4 concrete flaws. send it eingeschrieben. then sit tight. worst case you pay the difference later, best case you save 400-500 euros over the year while they sort their shit out.
What is the correct spelling for a street name that appears differently on multiple signs in Charlottenburg?
Worth noting that Berlin street names have official umlaut and ß rules that trip people up, so a sign showing "Strasse" versus "Straße" is not actually a spelling error, just an older transcription. Same with "ue" versus "ü" (e.g. "Kantstrasse" vs "Kantstraße"), both are considered valid renderings and you'll see the ß version on the blue Schilder and the ss version on older plaques or in databases that predate Unicode. If the difference you're seeing is between those two forms, there's nothing to fix and both are technically correct.
if the signs u mean are the old enamel ones on the house facades those are often protected as Baudenkmal so nobody's allowed to correct them even if the spelling is outdated. the binding version is whatever is in the Berliner Strassenverzeichnis plus the entry in the Liegenschaftskataster, so if u tell me the street i can point u to the right Bezirksamt Mitte or Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf page. tbh the merged district thing is real but the facade signs are a separate story, theyre basically museum pieces at this point
honestly thats super common in Charlottenburg, the district offices were merged from older Bezirke and nobody ever fixed all the Schilder. if its a real street you can check the official strassenverzeichnis on berlin.de, that list is what the Burgeramt actually goes by. which street is it? some of the Kaiserdamm / Kantstrasse signs are notorious for this.
load 1 more reply