How to read and use the Mietspiegel as a tenant (2026)

What is a Mietspiegel?

A Mietspiegel (local rent index) is an official overview of the ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete (local comparative rent) in a municipality — that is, what is usually charged for comparable flats in your city. It is created or recognised by the responsible authority, or jointly by landlord and tenant associations (§ 558c BGB).

The most important fact first: the Mietspiegel is your yardstick. You use it to check whether your rent is reasonable, whether a Mieterhöhung (rent increase) is lawful (§ 558 BGB), and whether the Mietpreisbremse (rent brake) was respected (§ 556d BGB). A tenant who can read the Mietspiegel does not negotiate blind.

Simple vs. qualified Mietspiegel (§ 558c, § 558d BGB)

The law recognises two kinds:

	Simple Mietspiegel (§ 558c BGB)	Qualifizierter Mietspiegel (§ 558d BGB)
Creation	created/recognised by municipality or associations	additionally on scientific principles
Updating	adjust every 2 years	adjust every 2 years, rebuild every 4 years
Evidential weight	an indication	legal presumption (§ 558d Abs. 3 BGB)

The legal presumption of the qualifizierter Mietspiegel is decisive: in court its figures are assumed to reflect the ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete correctly. Anyone claiming otherwise has to prove it.

The ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete (§ 558 Abs. 2 BGB)

The ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete is the usual rent for housing of comparable type, size, fittings, condition and location, formed from the rents agreed or changed over the last six years (§ 558 Abs. 2 BGB). This is exactly the figure the Mietspiegel maps — and the two most important tenant protections hang on it:

• Rent increase (§ 558 BGB): the landlord may raise the rent at most up to the ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete — and only within the Kappungsgrenze (§ 558 Abs. 3 BGB).
• Mietpreisbremse (§ 556d BGB): for a new letting in a designated tense market, the rent may be at most 10 % above the ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete.

Step by step: how to read the Mietspiegel

1. Get the current Mietspiegel. Usually on your city's website or from the Mieterverein (tenants' association). Check the date (year).
2. Classify your flat. Determine the age class of the building, the flat size and the location — this lands you in the right table row or field.
3. Read off the range. You get a rent range (€/m²) with a midpoint (lower, middle, upper value).
4. Apply surcharges and deductions. Fittings (e.g. a modern kitchen, balcony, energy condition) move your figure up or down within the range.
5. Compare with your rent. Scale €/m² up to your living space and compare the result with your Kaltmiete (net cold rent).

Achtung: Always check whether your landlord cites the currently valid and the correct Mietspiegel. An out-of-date Mietspiegel or the wrong table row quickly produces too high a Vergleichsmiete — and so an inflated demand.

What you need the Mietspiegel for

Situation	Yardstick	§
Check a rent increase	ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete + Kappungsgrenze	§ 558 BGB
Check a new contract (Mietpreisbremse)	max. 10 % above Vergleichsmiete	§ 556d BGB
Place your own rent	rent range from the Mietspiegel	§ 558c BGB

Common mistakes

• Out-of-date Mietspiegel — an older edition is cited that shows higher figures.
• Wrong classification — wrong age class or location, hence too high a range.
• Surcharges without basis — features are counted that the flat doesn't have.
• Midpoint instead of range — only the upper value is quoted, although your flat sits in the lower band.

HausMaus makes it easier

HausMaus is free for tenants and helps you place your flat into the Mietspiegel by age of building, size, location and fittings, so you can estimate the ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete. On that basis the app checks whether a rent increase stays within § 558 BGB and the Kappungsgrenze, or whether your rent exceeds the Mietpreisbremse (§ 556d BGB) — and, on request, drafts the matching response to your landlord. Wohnen, geregelt.

See pricing – free for tenants →