Housing

Steps

1. Check the type of rent advertised. The Kaltmiete (or Nettokaltmiete, "cold" rent) is the rent alone. The Nebenkosten or Betriebskosten (service charges: water, waste, maintenance, often heating) are added as monthly advances. The Warmmiete is the total. The deposit is calculated on the net rent, without service charges (§ 551 BGB).
2. Prepare your application file. Landlords often ask for an identity document, proof of income and a solvency certificate from the Schufa (see the pitfalls). None of these documents is required by law: it is market practice.
3. If an agency shows you round, check who commissioned it. This is the "whoever orders pays" principle (Bestellerprinzip): the agent may charge you a fee only if they searched for the home solely for you, under a brokerage contract in written form (Textform, an email is enough) (§ 2 WoVermRG). Their fee may then not exceed two months' net rent, plus VAT (§ 3 WoVermRG). No other payment (file, registration, drafting) is allowed; only proven expenses can be claimed in the limited cases of § 3 para. 3 WoVermRG.
4. Read the lease before signing. Look at the duration, the amount of the advances on service charges, the increase clauses (Staffelmiete, graduated rent set in advance; Indexmiete, rent indexed to prices), and the date the keys are handed over. A fixed-term lease (Zeitmietvertrag) is valid only for one of the reasons in § 575 BGB (the landlord wants to live in it, demolish it or renovate it heavily, or house an employee in it), stated in writing at signing. Otherwise, the lease is open-ended.
5. Pay the deposit. You can pay it in three equal instalments: the first at the start of the lease, the other two with the following rents (§ 551 para. 2 BGB). The landlord must place it in an account separate from their own assets, and the interest is yours (§ 551 para. 3 BGB).
6. Do a move-in inspection (Übergabeprotokoll, handover report) with photos. The law does not require it, but it is your best evidence when you leave.
7. Ask for the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung (landlord's confirmation): the landlord must give it to you (§ 19 BMG). You need it for your Anmeldung (address registration) within two weeks (see DE-SEJOUR-TOUS-001).
8. Every year, check the service-charge statement (Betriebskostenabrechnung). The landlord must send it to you at the latest 12 months after the end of the accounting period; after that, they can no longer claim any extra payment, except for a delay that is not their fault. You also have 12 months to dispute it, and you can ask to see the supporting documents (§ 556 paras. 3 and 4 BGB).
9. To leave, give your notice in writing. The tenant terminates at the latest on the third working day of a month, for the end of the second following month: in practice, nearly three months (§ 573c para. 1 BGB). A clause imposing a longer period on you is void (§ 573c para. 4 BGB).

Documents

• To apply: identity document, proof of income (employment contract, payslips), often a Schufa certificate and sometimes a certificate from the previous landlord (Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung, certificate of no rent arrears). Market practice, not required by law.
• Signed lease (Mietvertrag).
• Proof of payment of the deposit.
• Key handover report (Übergabeprotokoll).
• Wohnungsgeberbestätigung for the Anmeldung.

Costs and timelines

• Deposit: at most three months' net rent, without service charges (§ 551 para. 1 BGB). Payable in three instalments (§ 551 para. 2 BGB). Any less favourable clause is void (§ 551 para. 4 BGB).
• Agency fees: zero if the landlord commissioned the agent; otherwise two months' net rent at most, plus VAT (§ 2 and § 3 WoVermRG). No advance on fees (§ 2 para. 4 WoVermRG).
• Mietpreisbremse: in the areas designated by the Land, starting rent at most 10% above the ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete (local reference rent, often published in a Mietspiegel, the municipality's rent table) (§ 556d para. 1 BGB). The Länder's regulations must end by 31 December 2029 at the latest (§ 556d para. 2 BGB). Exceptions: a home used and let for the first time after 1 October 2014, and the first letting after a full refurbishment (§ 556f BGB).
• Rent increases during the lease: up to the local reference rent, if the rent has not changed for 15 months, and at most 20% in three years (15% in the areas designated by the Land) (§ 558 BGB). Increases after modernisation works and adjustments to service charges follow other rules.
• Tenant's notice: nearly three months (§ 573c para. 1 BGB). For a furnished room in the landlord's own home, the notice is shorter: termination by the 15th at the latest for the end of the month (§ 573c para. 3 BGB).
• Landlord's notice: three months, increased to six months after five years and to nine months after eight years of tenancy (§ 573c para. 1 BGB), and only with a legitimate reason written in the termination letter (§ 573 BGB).

Common pitfalls

• Paying agency fees when it is the landlord who posted the advert. If the agent already had the landlord's mandate, they cannot ask you for anything. A clause making you pay their fee is void (§ 2 para. 5 WoVermRG).
• Accepting a deposit of four or five months' rent. The cap of three months' net rent is mandatory.
• Not challenging a rent that is too high. In a Mietpreisbremse area, you must send the landlord an objection (Rüge) in writing (Textform: a letter or email is enough). If you do so more than 30 months after the start of the lease, you recover only the rents due after your objection (§ 556g paras. 2 and 4 BGB). The landlord must also inform you before signing if they rely on an exception (previous higher rent, new-build, renovation) (§ 556g para. 1a BGB). The list of municipalities concerned is set by the regulation of each Land: check the one for your Land and city. Example: in Hamburg, the Mietpreisbremse applies throughout the city from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2029 (Hamburg Senate, 25/11/2025).
• The Schufa. It is an Auskunftei, a private credit-reference agency, supervised by the data protection authority of the Land where it has its seat. You are entitled to a free copy of the data it holds on you (Article 15 of the GDPR), in principle at no charge (BfDI). When arriving from abroad, your file is often empty: it then contains no negative information, but some landlords are wary of this. Prepare other evidence (employment contract, bank statements).
• Signing a fixed-term lease without a written reason. It then counts as an open-ended lease (§ 575 para. 1 BGB): to your advantage, but check.
• Overlooking the painting-work clauses (Schönheitsreparaturen) in the lease. Their validity depends on the wording and on case law: have them checked by a tenants' association (Mieterverein) or a lawyer if in doubt.
• Adverts that look too good. Never pay any money before you have viewed and signed: fake adverts exist.

What changes by country of origin

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: same rights as German tenants. No landlord can ask you for a higher deposit because you are a foreigner.
• British citizens (Scots included): tenancy law is the same; it is your residence permit (see DE-SEJOUR-TOUS-001) that the landlord may want to see.
• All: the Schufa certificate does not exist in your home country; a certificate from your previous landlord and your payslips, translated if needed, can reassure.