Which German city has the cheapest rent in 2026?

How are rents developing in German cities in 2026 so far? Where have rents risen the most and where are tenants paying the most? The latest Greix Rent Index provides some insight.

Cologne rents up, Berlin rents down

The latest Greix Rent Index (Greix-Mietpreisindex) published by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (Kiel Institut für Weltwirtschaft or IfW) has revealed how rents in German cities are developing in 2026 so far.

According to the index of 37 cities and regions, Cologne in the second quarter of 2026 saw the biggest quarter-on-quarter increase in rents, up 6 percent. Hamburg followed with an increase of 5,1 percent and Düsseldorf with an increase of 4,1 percent. 

Overall, asking cold rents in the 37 surveyed cities rose by just 0,8 percent compared to the previous quarter but by 3 percent compared to the same quarter last year. According to the IfW, accounting for inflation brings the real year-on-year increase to 0,3 percent. 

Frankfurt (2,8 percent), Leipzig (2,8 percent) and Stuttgart (1,3 percent) all saw increases below the average in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, Berlin actually saw a quarterly decrease of -0,8 percent. 

Renters in Munich still pay the most

Few will be surprised that tenants in Munich are still paying the most, at an average of 23,70 euros per square meter (sqm) in the second quarter of 2026. 

Tenants in Munich still pay far more on average than those renting in Germany’s second-most expensive city, Frankfurt, where tenants are paying an average of 17,80 euros per sqm. Those in Hamburg pay an average of 16,50 euros per sqm.

The average cost of renting in Berlin (15,30 euros per sqm) and Düsseldorf (14,90 per sqm) sits just above the current national average price of 14,30 euros per sqm. Meanwhile, tenants in Leipzig are paying below the national average, at 10,50 euros per sqm.

It is in Chemnitz (6,2 euros per sqm), Gelsenkirchen (7,6 euros per sqm) and Hamm (8,6 euros per sqm) that tenants pay the lowest rents.

Berlin’s new rent law may shake things up

The IfW’s index comes just a few weeks after Berlin's local government passed a new rent regulation law, which is set to adjust rent prices in the capital and potentially further afield.

Berlin will become the first federal state to have a centralised, digital rent register  (Mietenkataster). According to the new law, landlords of more than 1,75 million flats in the capital will be required to log details of their rental properties in a database. Details will include, but are not limited to, the property address, size, number of rooms, information about the rental contract and cold rent amount.

According to Germany’s nationwide rent brake law, landlords are not allowed to charge tenants more than 10 percent over the “local comparative rent” in areas with a “strained housing market”. Details of the rental property are essential for determining whether the rent amount complies with the brake law.

The new rent register should make it easier for local authorities to challenge landlords on tenants’ behalf and will use AI software to flag potential cases of landlords charging illegally high rent, which authorities can then investigate.

Landlords will have 12 months to submit this information to the register. Those who do not submit the information within this time face fines of up to 10.000 euros. Landlords who fail to provide information on multiple occasions face fines of up to 100.000 euros.

If the new law proves successful in pressuring landlords to bring rents in line with the rent brake law, local authorities in other federal states may consider adopting the same system.