mietminderung

Rent Reduction Table 2026

Browse court rulings and case law on rent reduction in Germany. Filter by defect type and severity to find the appropriate reduction percentage.

Updated: October 2026 · 119 court rulings

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119 rulings found

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DefectReductionDescription
100 %Health hazard from toxic mold spores; children needed emergency treatment
100 %Total gas supply failure Sep–Feb
100 %Oil heating failure during the winter months
100 %Damp walls and ceilings, rats, mold; apartment uninhabitable
100 %Leaking water meter; 50 dB(A) drying machines made the apartment uninhabitable
100 %Apartment uninhabitable after water damage from corroded heating pipes; 5% afterwards for a musty smell
100 %Ceilings, walls and floors of every room soaked and moldy; water comes in whenever it rains
100 %Total gas supply failure Sep–Feb
100 %Total electrical failure after a cable fire; no light, hot water or stove
100 %Khapra beetle infestation; apartment uninhabitable because of harmful pest-control chemicals (June–Oct 1996)
100 %Mouse plague: up to 10 mice in the living room at once
100 %Apartment uninhabitable after a kitchen fire the tenant did not cause through gross negligence; the landlord's building insurance applies
100 %Weakly bound asbestos constantly releases fibers (top remediation urgency); apartment unfit to live in
100 %Extremely high levels of carcinogenic PAHs in the indoor air; apartment uninhabitable
85 %Gas supply out for 20 months: no heating, hot water or cooking; 85% Oct–Apr, 60% in the other months
85 %Total gas supply failure: no heating, no hot water, no cooking (85% in winter)
80 %Entire apartment permanently damp, musty and infested with mold
80 %Mold in a studio apartment; two drying machines, hardly any room to move
80 %Landlord converts the attic; apartment below unusable
75 %Mold in every room of a newly built apartment at first occupancy
75 %Total heating failure Nov–Feb
70 %Heating completely out Oct–Dec during conversion to an apartment gas heating system
70 %Heating failure during the heating season Oct–Apr
60 %Damp rising from the floor, wallpaper peeling off, floor tiles cracked
60 %Severe bedbug infestation; bringing them in with luggage counts as normal use of the apartment
50 %Severe mold in the living room; 60% of the living space affected
50 %Heating broken from November and again in February and April; apartment could not be heated
50 %Gas supply cut off, no heating or hot water; staggered: Oct 20%, Nov/Mar 30%, Dec–Feb 50%
50 %Carpet completely soaked; water dripping through the ceiling
50 %Excessively loud music from a neighbor; glasses vibrating in the cupboard
50 %Landlord secretly kept a key and entered the apartment without permission
40 %Noise from two bars on the ground floor from 10 pm to 4 am
35 %Major construction site (Elbe tunnel) about 50 m away, noise barrier 10 m in front of the windows
30 %Mold from thermal bridges in the kitchen, bedroom and children's room; landlord did not disprove a structural defect
30 %Apartment can only be heated to 16–18 °C
30 %Radiator in the largest room broken all winter; 5% afterwards
30 %Living room unusable due to water damage
30 %Water dripping through the ceiling
30 %Heavy noise from an expanded guesthouse (slamming doors, bathroom use at night)
30 %Attic conversion: scaffolding, covered windows, construction noise, plaster falling from the ceiling
30 %Extensive construction work in the building: vibrations, noise, scaffolding, dust and solvent smell; later 20%
25 %Mold because the landlord did not give adequate ventilation instructions
25 %Repeated heating failure over the Christmas holidays
25 %Heating out for 20 days in October
25 %Rainwater entering through the chimney top; water stains on the walls; leaking windows
25 %Kitchen of a 4-room apartment unusable after water damage
25 %Long-term construction noise from a full building refurbishment
25 %Severe moth infestation
25 %Apartment door cannot be locked; security and insurance risk
25 %Damaged bathroom and drafty, poorly closing windows (combined rate)
20 %Damp and mold in the living room, bedroom and kitchen with a musty smell
20 %Room temperature only 16–18 °C
20 %Bedroom could not be heated in February
20 %Soaked wall in the living room, water stains on the ceiling of the bay-window room
20 %Badly soaked walls in an old building with salt efflorescence and crumbling plaster, even without mold
20 %Construction noise from a large building site next door
20 %Frequent loud parties at weekends until late at night
20 %Recurring shouting and loud music from the neighboring apartment
20 %Considerable noise from a hotel that opened in the building after the lease was signed
20 %Construction noise from the neighboring plot; flat rate for the entire construction period
20 %Landlord cut off water and gas; 20% for the missing water supply alone
20 %20–25 silverfish in the apartment, poison in the bedroom
20 %Elevator out for 16 days; 10th floor (10. OG) of a high-rise
20 %Faulty seals on windows and doors; strong drafts and water getting in
20 %Advertising banner on scaffolding covered 4 of 5 windows and the balcony
20 %Damaged and missing asbestos floor tiles (Floor-Flex); reduction from the start of the lease
15 %Several square meters of mold on the exterior wall above the window and along the skirting boards in the bedroom
15 %Leaking shower cubicle, large amounts of water on the bathroom floor; plaster damage in the bedroom
15 %Noise from a metal gate
15 %Noise and dust from construction work on the neighboring plot; later 10%
15 %Elevator out for 16 days; 6th floor (6. OG)
15 %Leaky windows with drafts and heat loss
15 %Asbestos floor tiles (Floor-Flex) with many damaged spots that can release fibers
12 %After modernization, window areas a third smaller in four rooms; 3% per window
10 %Mold on the exterior wall of a storage room
10 %Mold on window reveals in the children's room and bedroom caused by thermal bridges
10 %Airing the apartment six times a day to prevent mold is unreasonable for the tenant
10 %Airing 6 to 8 times a day to prevent mold is unreasonable
10 %Mold in the bedroom due to missing insulation of the top-floor ceiling
10 %Cracking and rushing noises from the heating
10 %Undersized radiator, only 18 °C in the kitchen
10 %Room temperature repeatedly below 20 °C
10 %Leaking roof, water coming in until it was sealed
10 %Constant noise from neighbors: arguing, shouting, banging, stomping, slamming doors
10 %Noise from the ventilation system of a shisha lounge on the ground floor
10 %Brown water from several taps, cold water in the bathroom cannot be regulated
10 %Phone and internet connection dead for 14 months due to faulty in-house wiring
10 %TV reception promised in the lease was discontinued
10 %Mice and cockroaches
10 %Rats in the courtyard behind the apartment
10 %Mouse plague in a rural area (15 mice caught every day)
10 %Mice in the apartment, droppings in dishes and pots
10 %Elevator out of service, 4th floor (4. OG); shut down by the building authority
10 %Elevator out of service since Aug 2019; 3rd floor (3. OG)
10 %Strong cold drafts from the ventilation system in a passive house
10 %Strong smell of decay and feces from the neighboring apartment
8 %Heating broken in one room Nov 2014 – May 2015; partial failure
8 %Noise from a neighboring refugee shelter in the summer months; balcony unusable
8 %Pungent smell from a bakery on the ground floor in the mornings; later 5%
7.5 %More traffic noise after the road was turned into a motorway feeder; up to 1,000 vehicles/hour
7.5 %No hot water between 10 pm and 7 am
7.5 %5th floor (5. OG), student residence, both elevators out of service
7.5 %Elevator broken for several months after the basement flooded; apartment on the 3rd floor (3. OG)
7 %Black mold on the silicone joints of the windows
7 %Noise from a laundromat in the building
5 %Temperature regularly only 19 °C
5 %Discolored tiles after a repair
5 %Cellar included in the lease flooded by a burst pipe and unusable
5 %Noise from youth football with loud shouting
5 %New building: hot water reaches 55 °C only after 65 seconds (DIN 1988-200)
5 %Hot water reaches 40 °C only after about 50 seconds and never reaches 55 °C
5 %Silverfish for at least a year in the living rooms, kitchen and hallway
5 %Less daylight after modernization due to insulation, smaller windows and a balcony above
4.8 %Bicycle cellar reduced from 49 to 7 m² by modernization (rate of the lower court upheld)
4.5 %Elevator broken since 2009; tenant on the 2nd floor (2. OG)
4 %Persistent bad smell in the stairwell
3.5 %Hot water at 40 °C only after a long run-off time
3 %Elevator out of service, 2nd floor (2. OG)
2 %Intercom does not work

What is the rent reduction table?

The rent reduction table (Mietminderungstabelle) is a collection of court rulings showing how much rent reduction courts have awarded for specific apartment defects. It is not a law but a guide for tenants and landlords.

The actual amount of rent reduction always depends on the individual case — particularly the type, duration, and severity of the defect. The percentages listed in the table come from published court rulings and may vary depending on the court and circumstances.

How do I use the rent reduction table?

First, filter by the type of your defect — for example mold, heating failure, or noise. Then you can filter by severity level (mild, moderate, severe) or use the search function to find rulings on a specific topic.

The table shows the reduction percentage, the responsible court, the case number, and a brief description of the case. This helps you estimate what reduction rate is realistic in your situation.

Calculate rent reduction

Once you know which percentage applies to your defect, you can use our calculator to determine the exact amount. The calculation is based on the gross warm rent (base rent + utilities).

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The rent reduction table serves as non-binding information and does not constitute legal advice. The percentages listed are based on published court rulings and may differ in individual cases.