Graduated rent
The graduated rent is a form of rent in which the extent to which the rent will increase at certain times is determined in advance.
Germany
The graduated rent in Germany is regulated in § 557a BGB: In the agreement, the respective rent or the respective increase must be shown as a monetary amount. The respective rental scale must apply unchanged for at least one year. Further increases are not permitted for the staggered period - this also applies to modernizations during this period. Only the operating costs are excluded . Graduated rents can also be agreed in open-ended rental contracts. When the staggering expires, the rent can only be increased depending on the local comparative rent . The exclusion of a commercial tenant's right of termination or an individual agreement is limited to four years in the case of a graduated lease.
In comparison to the index rent and the limitation of a rent increase up to the local comparative rent according to § 558 BGB, which is otherwise provided for living space, the question arises as to where the agreed graduation is in relation to the general performance. This deviation must be taken into account when determining the value, since, due to the time limit for each graduation, only the local comparative rent can be assumed in the long term. As a rule, a graduated rent is likely to be higher than the general price development, which is why a reduction may be appropriate when using an income approach for the period after a blocking period has expired.
