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Forward to the Past: Short-Term Effects of the Rent Freeze in Berlin

Author

Listed:
  • Hahn, Anja M.

  • Kholodilin, Konstantin A.

  • Waltl, Sofie R.

Abstract

In 2020, Berlin enacted a rigorous rent-control policy: the “Mietendeckel” (rent freeze), aiming to stop rapidly growing rental prices. We evaluate this newly enacted but old-fashionably designed policy by analyzing its immediate supply-side effects. Using a rich pool of rent advertisements reporting asking rents and comprehensive dwelling characteristics, we perform hedonic-style Difference-in-Difference analyses comparing trajectories of dwellings inside and outside the policy’s scope. We find no immediate effect upon announcement of the policy. Yet advertised rents drop significantly upon the policy’s enactment. Additionally, we document a substitution effect affecting the rental markets of Berlin’s (unregulated) satellite city Potsdam and adjacent smaller municipalities. On top, the supplemental quantity analyses reveal a stark reduction of the number of advertised rental units hampering a successful housing search for newcomers, (young) first-time renters and tenants aiming for a different housing opportunity.

Suggested Citation

  • Hahn, Anja M. & Kholodilin, Konstantin A. & Waltl, Sofie R., 2020. "Forward to the Past: Short-Term Effects of the Rent Freeze in Berlin," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 308, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:wiw:wus005:7911
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    Cited by:

    1. Dolls, Mathias & Schüle, Paul & Windsteiger, Lisa, 2022. "Affecting Public Support for Economic Policies: Evidence from a Survey Experiment about Rent Control in Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264060, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    2. Trojanek, Radoslaw & Gluszak, Michal, 2022. "Short-run impact of the Ukrainian refugee crisis on the housing market in Poland," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    3. Jordi Brandts & Isabel Busom Piquer & Cristina López-Mayan & Judit Panadés Martí, 2022. "Pictures are worth many words: Effectiveness of visual communication in dispelling the rent–control misconception," Working Papers wpdea2202, Department of Applied Economics at Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona.
    4. Lukas Hauck, Nicola Stalder, Simon Büchler, Maximilian von Ehrlich, 2025. "Incidence, Allocation, and Efficiency Costs of Tenancy Rent Control," Diskussionsschriften dp2507, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft.
    5. Rainald Borck & Niklas Gohl, 2021. "Gentrification and Affordable Housing Policies," CESifo Working Paper Series 9454, CESifo.
    6. Isabel Busom & Cristina Lopez-Mayan & Judith Panadés & Jordi Brandts, 2022. "Images Say More Than Just Words: Effectiveness of Visual and Text Communication in Dispelling the Rent–Control Misconception," Working Papers 1322, Barcelona School of Economics.
    7. Konstantin A. Kholodilin & Fernando A. López & David Rey Blanco & Pelayo González Arbués, 2022. "Lessons from an Aborted Second-Generation Rent Control in Catalonia," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2008, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    8. Kholodilin, Konstantin A., 2024. "Rent control effects through the lens of empirical research: An almost complete review of the literature," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    9. Koo, Kang Mo & Kim, Jinyoo, 2025. "Putting a ceiling on housing costs: The aftermath of nationwide rent control in the case of jeonse system in Korea," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    10. Max Molden, 2025. "The perils of regulation and the theory of interventionism – an application to the Berlin rent freeze," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 38(1), pages 73-90, March.
    11. Kholodilin, Konstantin A. & Limonov, Leonid E. & Waltl, Sofie R., 2021. "Housing rent dynamics and rent regulation in St. Petersburg (1880–1917)," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 81.

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    JEL classification:

    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation

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