•  Foreword
•  Introduction
•  Duration of the rent index
•  Rental terms
•  Scope of validity
•  Dealing with rent index features
•  Calculating the local comparative rent
  • Step 1: Influence of the living space - basic rent
  • Step 2: Influence of the year of construction
  • Step 3: Influence of the residential location
  • Step 4: Influence of building and apartment characteristics
  • Step 5: Determining the standard local comparative rent
•  Note 1: Range
•  Note 2: Average operating costs
•  Note 3: Average parking space rents
• Appendix 1: Operating costs ordinance
• Appendix 2: Living space ordinance
•  Appendix 3: Notes on residential location assessment and maps

The newly compiled and scientifically supported rent index 2024, which I am presenting to you today, will help you to reliably determine the local comparative rent for your apartment. It is based on a representative survey of more than 2,500 Bonn residents and landlords who provided information about the tenancy and the characteristics of their rented apartment as required by law. The rent index was derived from this solid data basis. A new compilation was necessary in accordance with the legal requirements of the German Civil Code (BGB), as the previous rent index 2022 was an update.

The rent index and the online rent index calculator make it much easier to determine the local comparative rent in Bonn. The rent index provides an overview of rents for non-price-controlled apartments in the city area and thus creates clear transparency in the rental market. It serves as an indispensable basis for an amicable settlement between landlords and tenants, particularly in the event of upcoming rent increases, which can avoid disputes and legal costs.

The rent index 2024 was approved in this form by the rent index working group and recognized as a qualified rent index within the meaning of Section 558d of the German Civil Code (BGB) as of 1 December 2024. My special thanks go to the people of Bonn who took part in the survey and to all those involved, including the employees of the municipal offices and the representatives of landlords' and tenants' interests. I would also like to thank the Institut für Wohnen und Stadtentwicklung (ALP) for analyzing the data and the Institut Wohnen und Umwelt (IWU) for its scientific support.

If you have any questions, the staff at the Office for Land Management and Geoinformation and the Office for Social Affairs and Housing will be happy to help. Further information can be found on these pages, in the rent index calculator and in the comprehensive documentation on the rent index.

I hope that the rent index 2024 for the City of Bonn will help you to make well-founded decisions on rent pricing and contribute to finding appropriate and permissible solutions.

Kind regards

Katja Dörner

Mayor of Bonn, City of Bonn

The Council of the City of Bonn adopted the qualified Bonn rent index 2024 on November 12, 2024. It is based on a representative sample of non-price-controlled apartments in Bonn and has been prepared in accordance with recognized scientific principles. It is qualified within the meaning of Section 558d BGB and provides official information on the general rent structure in the City of Bonn.

The sample was drawn by the municipal statistics office of the City of Bonn, the data was collected from tenants by means of on-site interviews and from landlords either in writing or electronically by means of a questionnaire. The cut-off date for the data collection was 1 October 2023. The Office for Land Management and Geoinformation was responsible for coordinating the project and collecting and checking the plausibility of the data. The ALP Institut für Wohnen und Stadtentwicklung GmbH was responsible for evaluating the data and carrying out the associated plausibility checks. The entire process of preparing the rent index was scientifically supported by the Institut Wohnen und Umwelt (IWU), Darmstadt.

The rent index was prepared by the rent index working group, in which representatives of the following offices of the City of Bonn as well as various associations and committees participated:

• Office for Land Management and Geoinformation
• Office for Social Affairs and Housing
• Municipal Statistics Office of the City of Bonn
• Office of the Expert Committee for Property Values in the City of Bonn
• Tenants' Association Bonn/Rhein-Sieg/Ahr e.V.
• House, apartment and property owners' association Bonn/Rhein-Sieg e.V.
• House, apartment and landowners' association Bad Godesberg e.V.
• Regional working group Bonn/Rhein-Sieg of the Rhineland-Westphalia Association of the Housing and Real Estate Industry e.V.

The tenants' and landlords' representatives have recognized the rent index 2024 as a qualified rent index.

The rent is the amount to be paid to rent a property. In connection with a residential tenancy, the rent is usually divided into a basic rent (net cold rent) and operating costs (also known as ancillary costs). The operating costs are made up of the proportionate operating costs that can be allocated to a property in accordance with Section 2 of the Operating Costs Ordinance (BetrKV). As a rule, the rent can be freely agreed between tenants and landlords. In practice, this results in a wide variety of rental models:

If all apportionable operating costs are charged, this is referred to as a net cold rent. If a lump sum is agreed for all apportionable operating costs incurred and tenants do not pay the actual operating costs incurred, this is referred to as a warm rent (also known as gross rent ). If a portion of the apportionable operating costs is included in the rent payment as a lump sum and a portion is billed, this type of rent is referred to as partial inclusive rent.

A rent index always shows net cold rents, which is why average net cold rents were determined for warm and partially inclusive rents by reducing the flat-rate operating costs (see note 2).

The average net cold rents resulting from the rent index are referred to as local comparative rents, which are dependent on the following basic residential value characteristics listed in Section 558 (2) BGB: Type, size, fittings, condition, location and energy-related fittings and condition. As the Bonn rent index is qualified within the meaning of Section 558d (1) BGB, it is assumed that the designated fees reflect the customary local comparative rent (Section 558d (3) BGB).

The rent index is suitable for calculating the local rent for non-price-restricted apartments. The following apartments are excluded:

Statutory exclusions:

• Apartments for which the rent level has been determined by law or in connection with a subsidy commitment (Section 558 (2) sentence 2 BGB), e.g. publicly subsidized apartments,
• Tenancies that were only entered into for temporary use
• (§ 549 Para. 2 No. 1 BGB), e.g. vacation apartments, hotel rooms or fitters' apartments,
• Living space that is located in the apartment occupied by the landlord and furnished by the landlord (Section 549 (2) No. 2 BGB),
• living space rented by a legal entity under public law or a recognized private welfare organization in order to provide it to persons with urgent housing needs (Section 549 (2) No. 3 BGB) and
• apartments in a student or youth hostel (Section 549 (3) BGB).

Other exclusions (due to special agreements, lack of representativeness or statistical uncertainty):

• Residential, old people's (nursing) or other homes
• Subletting relationships,
• Official and company housing,
• Living space without sink, tap, cooking facilities and WC for sole use,
• apartments without their own apartment closure, i.e. without a lockable entrance,
• apartments used primarily for commercial purposes,
• Apartments with a living space of less than 16 m² or more than 160 m²,
• detached and semi-detached houses and
• completely/predominantly furnished living space:
  - This does not include if a fitted kitchen is provided by the landlord.
  - The standard local comparative rent can be determined by adding an appropriate surcharge for furnishings to the standard local comparative rent calculated on the basis of this rent index.

Not every feature of an apartment can be reflected in the Bonn rent index 2024. The reasons for this are

• Lack of statistical significance,
• insufficient case numbers (only very few apartments have this feature) and
• very high case numbers (standard fixtures and fittings).

Please note the following:

• The stucco feature only applies to old buildings that were ready for occupancy before 1919. Due to its particularly high mark-up, the feature appears to apply exclusively to classic Gründerzeit buildings.

The basic rents listed are net cold rents in euros per month and m² of living space (living area). For living areas with decimal places (e.g. 85.5 m²), the  rent index calculator (opens in a new tab) provides the exact, relevant results. Alternatively, you can interpolate in step 1 for living areas with decimal places.

The living space can be found in the rental agreement. Other sources (utility bills, measurements in accordance with the Living Space Ordinance) can also be used.

16 to 40 square meters

41 to 65 square meters

66 to 90 square meters

91 to 115 square meters

116 to 140 square meters

141 to 160 square meters

Depending on the year of construction (i.e. the year in which the property was ready for occupancy), a surcharge may need to be added to the basic rent in euros per month and m² of living space. If the attic was subsequently converted, the year of completion of the attic conversion is decisive for determining the local comparative rent for this attic apartment.

The better the residential location according to the residential location map of the expert committee for property values in the City of Bonn, the higher the premium on the base rent in euros per month and m² of living space.

The evaluation was based on the residential location map as of August 1, 2023. In the image gallery for the residential location evaluation, you can see the point value of your residential address from the residential location map. The following table shows the surcharge in euros/m² per month.

Alternatively, you can find out the residential location of your apartment by calling 0228 772200 or by using the  rent index calculator (opens in a new tab).

You can find further information on the residential location in the image gallery for the residential location assessment.

In a regression rent index such as the one presented here, more influencing variables are examined - compared to a table rent index - to determine the local comparative rent, some of which are combined and classified as relevant depending on their significance. Due to the large number of characteristics examined and used, the regression rent index can reflect the customary local rent much more accurately.

In principle, it is not recommended to deviate from the value calculated in step 5. However, the following conditions justify a deviation from the rent determined in step 5 if they are both met:

1. The overall quality and scope of the fixtures and fittings (see work step 4) deviate to a large extent from the features examined in the rent index. Only the relevant features are included in this brochure. You can find all the features examined in the  documentation on the Bonn rent index 2024.
   and
2. Buildings and apartments are in a very good or poor state of maintenance for the year of construction.

According to the case law of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH ruling of July 12, 2006 - VIII ZR 215/05), the actual operating costs incurred must be taken into account when increasing the proportion of operating costs in a rent. The following table shows the average monthly operating costs for Bonn determined from the rent index survey, which should, however, only be regarded as a supplementary indication of the appropriateness of individual operating costs.

*Note: The costs for broadband use, an antenna system and the maintenance of a floor heating system apply per apartment.

The Bonn city area was divided into three parking space zones (central location, city location, suburban location). For each zone, an average monthly rental amount was calculated for the various types of parking space (garage, underground parking space, open parking space), which can serve as a guide when renting or leasing parking spaces.

* Too few cases

The term location is introduced in Section 558 (2) BGB as a characteristic that determines the rental value of rented residential space. In general, it should be noted that the term location, as also introduced in Section 558 (2) BGB, semantically expresses something very general. In practice, the term is then usually further specialized by means of additions, e.g. business location or office location. The term "Wohnlage" is commonly used in connection with housing.

As the residential location is an area-based average value, there may be deviations from the point value shown in individual cases as part of the rebuttable presumption. On busy roads, for example, this can lead to lower values or, in the case of greater distances from railroad lines, to higher values.

The residential location map adopted by the Expert Committee for Property Values in the City of Bonn represents an assessment according to various objective amenity features (infrastructure, transport connections, urban greenery, image, streetscape, pollution as a correction and special districts) of the residential area. Each residential area is given a score, which is divided into four sections on the cover sheet for presentation purposes. It was first used for the Bonn rent index in 1996.

From 2014 onwards, no differentiation is made in the presentation of locations. Only the term "Wohnlage/Wohnlagenkarte" is used. The location map/residential location map was therefore updated as of January 1, 2000, October 1, 2002, January 1, 2004, January 1, 2007 (for the first time with district influence), January 1, 2008, March 30, 2009, June 1, 2011, November 1, 2013, December 1, 2015, May 1, 2018, July 1, 2020, January 1, 2022 and August 1, 2023.

Area representation:

Map basis:

The map of the City of Bonn is composed of basic data from various sources with different license terms.

In the Bonn city area, these are the Stadtplanwerk 3.0 of the Office for Soil Management and Geoinformation (license CCO), provider: City of Bonn, Office for Soil Management and Geoinformation, 2024) and in the area outside the Bonn city area the data from OpenStreetMap (ODbL).

The map images are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license and released for further use.