Five Good Countries to Move to for Renters
If you are moving overseas, one of the big decisions you will have to make is whether you choose to rent or buy in your new country. Renting makes a lot of sense, particularly if the reason for your move is due to a short- or fixed-term work contract, or if you are studying abroad. It could also allow you to keep (and possibly rent out) your original home.
However, you will not always want to – or be able to - spend a large amount of your earnings or grant on your new home’s rent. Here The Moving Partnership, who can help with removals to Germany, France, across Europe and further afield, looks at the principal countries which have the advantages of rent controls in place.
Germany
If you are considering an overseas house move to Germany, then the Rent Control law, Mietpreisbremse, which was introduced in 2015, means landlords can’t extend rents by more than 10% above the rent index for that neighbourhood. Although the law is nationwide, the index is set regionally by local government.
If a landlord chooses to charge more than the permitted rent the tenant is eligible for a rent reduction and can appeal if they think they are being overcharged. It’s been particularly useful in the big cities, such as Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt, where demand for rental accommodation is high.
France
Here the levels of rent landlords can charge are based on a Reference Index – and they aren’t allowed to increase them by more than the inflationary increase in the index. A total of 28 regions in France are now included in the rent control areas, including many of the big cities. And in July 2022, France introduced a new cap on yearly rent increase to a maximum of 3.5% for one year, as a one-off response to the worldwide cost of living crisis.
The USA
Here the situation is decided on a state-by-state basis. There are a number of states which have controls in place, including California, New York, New Jersey and Maryland; others, including Oregon and Minnesota, have recently introduced legislation to cap rises as well.
It’s particularly useful in areas of high demand, such as in New York City, where there are rent-controlled apartments that operate under the ‘Maximum Base Rent’ system which determines a maximum rent for each individual apartment, adjusted every two years. However, not all states have rent controls in place, and 37 have laws prohibiting them; another eight allow their cities to set rent control regulations, but none have yet chosen to do so.
Canada
For those people considering removals to Canada, then this is decided on a province-by-province basis. The situation, as in the USA, varies – for instance in Alberta there is no limit to the rent amount landlords are permitted to charge (but they can only be increased once a year for an existing tenant).
However, in British Columbia, rent can only be increased according to the limits set in the Residential Tenancies Act, which calculated a maximum increase of 1.5% in 2022 and 2% in 2023. Under the rules tenants must be given three full months’ notice of any increases and landlords can only increase rent annually. As in France, some parts of the country imposed a freeze on rent rises in response to the cost of living crisis in 2022 and 2023.
China
In 2021, the Chinese Government ruled that the cost of renting a home in all urban areas should not rise by more than 5% a year. This was aimed at reducing wealth disparities between homeowners and those struggling to get on the property ladder – and is particularly good news for those interested in removals to Beijing, Shanghai and the other big cities where prices were being pushed upwards by property speculators.
Removals to Europe, China, the USA and Canada with The Moving Partnership
At The Moving Partnership, we can help with overseas house moves to Germany, France, the USA and Canada. Our network of contacts in the international removals industry allows us to source a competitive quote which will be tailored to meet your individual needs.
For more information on our European moves, follow this link, and if you want to move further afield (not necessarily just to China, the USA or Canada) then click here.
