The law really was on our side
Diego (26) and Gloria (23) from Berlin-Moabit checked the rent with CONNY right after they moved in. Although the couple was worried about confronting their landlord, Diego and Gloria decided to pull the rent control. And it paid off! Diego now saves 130€ every month.
Which problem did you ask CONNY to solve?
When we moved here, we knew that our rent was too high and we asked CONNY to help us lower our rent.
How did you find your apartment? How long did you search?
We found our apartment online on one of the popular websites to find an apartment. We were looking for about four months before we found this apartment. I think overall, we applied to around a hundred apartments and we visited about 15 of them, until we got this one, which was the last one we visited.
What kind of apartment is this?
So this is an old building. We moved in here in April 2020. It has two rooms. It is 33 square meters and we pay 310 euros cold and 390 euros warm now.
What do you like most about your apartment?
Diego: What I like most about the apartment is that it is very well located and is very well connected to the rest of the city. And it's just a very nice, quiet neighborhood.
Gloria: The wooden floors, they're beautiful.
Diego: Yeah. Yeah. I like the wooden floors in the apartment. That's nice.
Do you plan to stay in the apartment for the long term?
We have no plans to move out of this apartment any time soon. We like it here and we're planning to stay in Berlin for a while.
Did you know your rent was too high when you moved in?
We knew before we moved in that our rent was too high. We use the CONNY website to calculate how much we should be paying for the apartment and we signed the contract anyway and then ask CONNY to lower our rent.
What convinced you to commission CONNY?
I think what convinced me the most to commission CONNY was just the testimonials of people that had already done it. That had the exact same doubts as I did before. And I saw that they were fine. So I decided to give it a go.
Did you also use other information sources?
Afterwards, we looked at the CONNY website. I still had a couple of questions and I did a bit of research on government websites to learn more about the law.
Were you worried about confronting your landlord about rent control? What eased your worries?
Initially, I was actually very concerned to confront our landlord because we had just got the apartment and I was scared that we were gonna lose it or we were going to get in some kind of trouble. But after reading the testimonials from people that had the exact same doubts and that had no problems is when we decided to go try it.
How did the process go for you? How long did the process take from commissioning to agreement?
The process for us was very smooth. I think it took around one month from the moment we commissioned CONNY to the moment we actually got a reply from our landlord. So the process was really smooth for us.
How much rent can you save now? How does that make you feel?
So after using CONNY, we are saving around 130 euros per month on rent, which feels incredible. It is just a great relief to know that we can get by with less every month.
Does the rent reduction match your expectations? Did you expect more or less?
The savings that we got was exactly what we expected because it's very standardized. So this is calculated, which is why we knew that the rent was too high. So we saved exactly how much we expected, which was great because at some point I thought maybe it would be less and it wasn't.
Do you already have plans on what you’re going to do with the rent you save?
So with the money we save, we are putting it away and we are going to take a trip to Mexico.
Has the relationship with your landlord changed?
Our relationship with the landlord did not change because our landlord, they're very unresponsive. So nothing really changed.
Do you think the success fee is fair?
I think that the success fee is very fair because you don't really feel it. Most of it comes from money that you have already paid. So, in the end, we actually got even a little bit of money back ourselves on top of what we paid. So it doesn't feel like you're paying anything.
Did you get a back payment?
Once our rent was lowered and CONNY got their commission, we still got 130 euros on top for ourselves.
Would you commission CONNY again?
Yeah, I would definitely commission CONNY again if I was in a situation where I knew my rent was too high.I wouldn't think about it twice.
What can CONNY still improve from your point of view?
I think CONNY could do a better job of reassuring people that this law exists and it works and the law is on your side and it's worth trying it.
What is your conclusion? What would you advise other people in a similar situation?
Gloria: I would advise everyone in our situation to check if they can lower the rent and to give it a shot.
Diego: So after the whole experience, my conclusion was that the law really was on our side and I would recommend anyone that is in a similar situation to not be scared because that's what almost stopped me from doing it. And I am really grateful that I went ahead and do it. And I recommend the same for everyone.