High rent charge for tenants in Germany raises ‘red flag’
German tenants must set aside much of their household income to pay landlords, with 3.1 million households facing a 40% rent burden, according to a study published on Friday.
The figures from Germany’s federal statistics agency Destatis show that housing costs are especially high for those living in large cities or with lower incomes.
How are the figures divided?
The study found that around 16% of Germany’s 19.9 million households spend at least 40% of their income on rent.
For about 1.5 million of these homes, rents account for more than half of tenant income.
Another 1.6 million must spend between 40% and 50% of their income on rent and other landlord costs. On average – and at a time of high inflation – these households are more likely to be the lowest income earners.
The study, based on a 2022 microcensus, shows that the average German tenant spends well over a quarter of income (27.8%) on rent.
In larger cities, with more than 100,000 inhabitants, 28.9% of income was average, falling to 25.9% in cities with up to 20,000 inhabitants.
Source: DW
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