News

Our promise to our tenants

Berlin, 24 June 2019. Deutsche Wohnen is forging new paths in rental policy: the company is making a contribution to tackling the housing crisis with a voluntary pledge. Deutsche Wohnen is making a binding commitment for all of its residential units in Germany,

• to increase rents after modernisation measures only if the annual gross warm rent does not exceed 30 percent of the household's net income;
• to limit future "Mietspiegel" driven rent increases so that a household only needs to spend a maximum of 30 percent of its net income on net cold rent - even if the rent index would permit further increases;
• to allocate one in four re-letting residential units to tenants entitled to a certificate of eligibility to live in social-housing ("Wohnberechtigungsschein").

Michael Zahn, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Wohnen SE, says: 'with our voluntary pledge we set a signal. An apartment is and remains a special asset. We want to improve the situation on the German residential market and will take our tenants' individual capacities more into account in future. Tenants who really need support must be in the center of rent regulation concepts. Generalized and very far-reaching key points, as presented by the Berlin Senate in mid-June, are completely counterproductive in the long-term. The complete freezing of rents would suffocate the Berlin real estate market for new construction and necessary investments - because a rental cap is equal to an investment cap.'

The pledge is the cornerstone of a new rental policy with which Deutsche Wohnen significantly exceeds the legal requirements. It comes into force on 1 July 2019 and is initially valid for five years. The regulations relate exclusively to future rent increases, so they are not retroactive and have no impact on existing rent levels. In future, tenants of Deutsche Wohnen may report a case of hardship in the event of a rent increase request, and upon presentation of the corresponding proof of income, the rent increase will be limited in accordance with the regulation.

Analogous to the agreements between the state of Berlin and its own housing companies, Deutsche Wohnen is thus contributing to a moderate rent development while at the same time preserving much-needed investment power.

Deutsche Wohnen is also committed to doubling its involvement in social and charitable projects. In the future, the company will provide EUR 6 million a year to help people in need, promote sports, children and youth projects, and provide housing space for social projects.

Deutsche Wohnen has recorded its new voluntary commitment in the statement "Our promise to our tenants". It can be viewed in full on the company's website: https://www.deutsche-wohnen.com/fileadmin/images/ueber-uns/Presse/Deutsche_Wohnen_SE-Our_promise_to_our_tenants.pdf. The tenants of Deutsche Wohnen will be informed nationwide about the voluntary commitment in the coming days.

Deutsche Wohnen

Deutsche Wohnen is one of the leading publicly listed property companies in Germany and Europe with a business focus on managing and developing its portfolio, which consists mainly of residential properties. As at 31 March 2019, the portfolio comprised 167,119 units in total, of which 164,416 were residential and 2,703 commercial. The company is listed in the Deutsche Börse's MDAX and is also included in the leading indices EPRA/NAREIT, STOXX(R) Europe 600 and GPR 250.

Important note

This publication is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation to buy securities.

To the extent that this document contains forward-looking statements, these are not facts and are recognisable by such words as 'will', 'expect', 'believe', 'estimate', 'intend', 'endeavour', 'assume' and similar expressions. These statements express the intentions, opinions or current expectations and assumptions of Deutsche Wohnen and the individuals acting in concert with it. The forward-looking statements are based on current plans, estimates and forecasts that Deutsche Wohnen and the individuals acting in concert with it have made to the best of their knowledge, but do not make any claims as to their future accuracy. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are generally difficult to predict and are usually not within the control of Deutsche Wohnen or the individuals acting in concert with it. It should be remembered that the actual results or consequences may differ considerably from those mentioned or contained in the forward-looking statements.