Brief considerations on the affordability in the German residential tenancy market and alternatives in the sharing economy context

Marta Santos Silva

Keywords

Housing; Rent; Rent Regulation; Tenancy law; Tenant; Landlord.

Abstract

Renting prevails in the German rental market. This situation is different than that of Portugal, where ownership prevails, even though in Germany ownership is recognised as an asset as far as retirement planning and long-term investment are concerned. Another trend can be found in addition to the prevalence of renting over ownership. An increasing number of households in densely inhabited German cities have been suffering with the sustained rent increase following the growth of the local accommodation sector within the so-called “sharing economy”. This paper presents an analysis of how the German authorities have ruled rents and local accommodation in a way of making a sustainable development of the private residential tenancy market possible.