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Landlord overcharging rent - is CONNY worth it?
The landlord told me that she bought the apartment this summer and hoped to move in but quickly realised that she could not afford the mortgage payments, so she decided to sublet it for a year or two. I moved in alone, and we agreed that I could find a subtenant immediately- anyone I liked, she wouldn't get involved.
Fast forward to January 2024, I have been told repeatedly by friends that I am paying WAY too much, and checked CONNY.DE, which confirmed that I am paying 952 euros above the legal limit. I decided to first contact the landlord before commissioning CONNY, as until this point, she had been very friendly and relaxed.
I messaged her on Whatsapp and explained the situation, and asked for her thoughts. She told me she was open to "finding a solution that works for all parties". I asked if she would lower the rent by a few hundred euros, and we could avoid CONNY altogether. This upset her, and she told me that the flat was more expensive for her to buy than for me to rent, and she could not lower the rent without not being able to afford the mortgage payments. Regarding CONNY, she told me to "do what I need to do". She asked that from then on, we should only email, and she would need documents to check for the new roommate, such as proof of income, ID, and Schufa. My roommate is new to Berlin and unemployed (with a lot of savings), but looking for work. I am afraid she will reject him out of spite, although I am unsure if it's really up to her to decide, as I am Hauptmieterin.
My question is this: should I go through with CONNY anyway, and hope she doesn't find a way to evict me and my roommate? Should I contest her decision to check his documents, as I am Hauptmieterin?
Any advice is appreciated.
look, connny is the right move here, but understand what it actually does. it doesn't just lower your rent, it forces the landlord to refund the overpayment from the last 30 months, and it legally caps the rent going forward. since she bought the place this summer, the rent cap (mietpreisbremse) applies to her too, unless she did major renovations or the flat is first-time occupancy after 2014. her mortgage problems are not your problem, that's her investment risk.
as hauptmieterin, you absolutely have the right to choose your subtenant, she can't veto based on income or schufa unless it's in your contract. she can ask for documents but she can't reject someone just because they're unemployed with savings, that's her trying to scare you. if she tries to evict you, she'd need a valid reason, and "she's mad about connny" isn't one. subletting for a year or two is also a gray area, she might be avoiding taxes or breaking her own mortgage terms, so she has way more to lose than you do.
send her an email stating you'll proceed with connny, and that your roommate will move in as agreed, documents are for your records only. she'll probably threaten you, but that's bluff. if she tries to terminate, you can fight it, and connny has lawyers for that. worst case, you move out,
You've got the legal side covered from the other reply, so let me add a practical angle. The 1400 cold on a 63.5 sqm flat in Neukölln is indeed steep, but before you push CONNY, check if your specific building qualifies for an exemption. If the landlord did any modernisation work before you moved in, or if the first rental after 2014 was above the cap, the Mietpreisbremse might not apply. CONNY will check this for you, but it's worth knowing that a rejection letter from them isn't the end, it just means you're stuck with the higher rent.
On the subtenant issue, since you're Hauptmieterin, you're right that the final say is yours. The landlord can request documents, but she can't legally block someone with savings just because they're not employed, that would be discrimination based on income source. If she tries to refuse, tell her you'll forward her objection to CONNY's lawyers, that usually shuts it down fast.
One thing nobody mentioned yet: the sublet duration. You said she wants to sublet for a year or two, but your contract with her is probably open-ended. If she tries to evict you after that period claiming she needs to move in herself, that's a valid reason under German law, but she'd have to prove genuine intent, not just spite. Document everything now, especially her WhatsApp messages and your
tbh the other replies covered the legal stuff well, so let me talk about the practical side of living with this. you're in neukölln, 63 sqm, 1400 cold. that's like a 2019 pre-crisis price for a much nicer area. even if connny doesn't get you the full 952 back, any reduction helps. and the refund covers 30 months, so even if you move out in a year you still get paid.
on the roommate thing, her asking for schufa and income is standard, but her rejecting someone with savings is just dumb. savings are literally proof of ability to pay. if she tries to block him, tell her you'll pass her reasoning to connny's lawyers. that usually ends the conversation. also, since you're hauptmieterin, she can't even legally demand those documents from him directly, she'd have to go through you. so just collect them yourself, send her a pdf, and move on.
one thing i'd add: if she's subletting because she can't afford the mortgage, she might also be doing this without telling her own bank. some mortgage contracts forbid subletting without permission. if she evicts you out of spite, you could mention that to her. not as a threat, just as a "are you sure you want to open this can of worms" kind of thing. keep it in your back pocket, don't use
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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.