Landlord Richard Reischl takes an unusual measure: He reduces the rent by 100 euros for two families. “Their salaries are not currently increasing, but their expenses are,” he says.

Energy prices are skyrocketing and everything in the supermarket is also getting more expensive – for many citizens this is a real cause for concern. Some even have to worry about whether they can continue to afford the rent. They are lucky if they have a landlord like Richard Reischl.

Reischl has been the mayor of the small Bavarian community of Hebertshausen (6,000 inhabitants) for eight years and is the owner of four rental apartments. While other landlords are raising prices and rents are becoming unaffordable in many cities, he is acting against the trend: Reischl has voluntarily reduced the basic rent by 100 euros for two families who live in his properties – this corresponds to 14 percent of the total rent. Initially until the end of the year, but: “If the costs continue to be so high, I’ll just extend my offer”.

CSU mayor lowers rent by 100 euros

“My tenants are all very long-standing, reliable tenants. I don’t want to lose them,” he explains in response to a stern request. “Their salaries are not currently increasing, but their expenses are.” He made his rent reduction public on Facebook and received almost exclusively positive reactions. “Whoever has more can give more,” he explained there.

The CSU local politician agreed with his other tenants on rent reductions for families who are particularly hard hit by rising prices – they agreed immediately. The families were “speechless and totally surprised” by the surprising financial relief, Reischl told the star.

Richard Reischl: “Everyone has to make a contribution”

For him, this decision is a contribution to a more humane coexistence even in times of crisis. “I think everyone has to make a contribution in crises and for the community. Politics can’t always solve everything,” says Reischl. “I have decided for myself to give up some income. Why should only others have to do without?” For himself, the losses are “absolutely manageable”.

The fact that he has made his move public – according to him, more than a million people have already seen his Facebook post – the mayor does not want to be understood as an invitation to others to do the same. However, he very much wishes that other landlords would also think about his role model.

For him – in contrast to conventional real estate companies – it is not primarily about profit maximization: “I want to increase my life satisfaction, if possible every year. And for me this decision is a greater return than money,” says Richard Reischl. “I’m very comfortable with it.”