Rent for residential and commercial premises are not to be set arbitrarily. The initial rent must be adapted to certain conditions and can be contested by the tenant under certain circumstances. The purpose of challenging the rent is to reduce the rent. A challenge is possible provided that the rent is abusive. The Federal Court has now changed the practice of calculating the initial rent on the basis of the net yield.
A rent can be more abusive for two reasons. On the one hand, if the rental income is too high – net yield – and on the other hand, if the rental income exceeds the local rental income considerably and without justification. The Federal Court has now adjusted the method of calculating the net yield in connection with inflation. First, 100% of the equity invested in the rental property must be adjusted to reflect inflation. So far only 40% has been adjusted. Secondly, if the reference interest rate is less than or equal to 2%, the return may exceed 2%. Like the former, this regulation replaces decades-old provisions.
The reason given for the adjustment is the continuing fall in interest rates on mortgages and the increasingly low rental income.