The constituent of the DAX index said it would continue to offer flexible payment terms to tenants who were facing financial hardship after losing their jobs or going on furlough, and around 1% of them had taken that up.

"We have weathered the coronavirus crisis well so far," said CEO Rolf Buch. "This means that we can do a lot for our tenants and live up to our social responsibility."

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 8% to 942 million euros (850.17 million pounds), enabling the Bochum-based landlord to confirm annual guidance in a range of 1.875-1.925 billion euros.

Rental income from existing properties rose by 1% in the first half while the average rent paid by tenants in Germany was 6.88 euros.

Vonovia manages around 415,000 of its own rental apartments - of that total, 354,000 are in Germany, giving it a market share of 1.5%. Its portfolio is well let, with a vacancy rate of just 2.8%.

The value of its real estate portfolio, after stripping out liabilities, grew by 5.4% to 29.7 billion euros at June 30 compared to the end of 2019.

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Michelle Martin)