Costs on housing is relatively low in Germany. Finding an apartment in Germany has become a fierce competition and a very difficult one. One needs to have lot of patience to find a perfect apartment. It is wise to start searching an apartment near the place where you work. It saves a lot of unwanted travel time and expense.

With effect from 1st June 2015, a new law enforced in Germany, which is known as the ordering/Hiring principle (Bestellerprinzip); regulating the question, if the owners or tenants of an object must take over the Brokerage commission (Makler kosten). According to the new law, the person who hires the real estate agent must take over the brokerage costs. Depending on the case, this can be either the Landlord or the Tenant. If a broker tries to convince you to take the commission instead of the Landlord, then by law it is punishable. 

It is also not allowed to charge you a commission, even if you have indeed placed the search order or hired the real estate agent, if the brokered apartment was already in the estate of the Agency. The agent is entitled to invoice, only if the search request has been carried out completely new and explicitly for your order.

Apt. description.

How to apply

Rent

Know your rights

Moving in/out

Abbreviations

How to find an Apartment ?

If you are looking for a suitable property to rent, then searching through a broker is a good idea, especially in major cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, Köln, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich, as suitable properties available are less than the demand. However, more traditional is the way through the Internet, magazines and Co. Through various channels, potential tenants are looking for a property that they can ideally rent cheap. Based on your need you can search for a furnished apartment (Möbiliertewohnung), unfurnished apartment or a flat share. Nowadays, the online property portals are springing up with list of rental properties without an agent's fees (provisionsfreie).

The furnished apartment may quote a higher rent than the unfurnished ones. This is the best choice for those who are staying for a short period or an year. It reduces the tension of furnishing the apartment and also when vacating the apartment. 

Few Websites to find the Perfect Apartment

These websites are very useful to find apartments. You keep receiving updates on the apartments. The property search agent advises you on new available housing that fits your needs.

Few Dedicated websites to find Furnished Apartments

Know the description of the rental property 

Usually in Germany all the real estate portal (immobilien) advertisements describes the rental property as stated below

  • Type of the property (Wohnungstyp)
     
    • Apartment (Etagenwohnung)
    • Penthouse (Dachgeschoss)
    • Duplex (Maisonette)
  • Floor level / storey (Etage)
  • Living space (Wohnfläche)
  • Vacant from (Bezugsfrei ab)
  • Number of rooms (Zimmers) – Includes Living room, Bedroom & Kitchen. Usually Bathrooms do not count to the no of rooms.
  • Pet Animals (Haustiere) - Yes or No ( Is pet animals allowed in the apartment/ House)
  • Other additional facilities like Balcony (Balkon), Cellar (Keller), Built in Kitchen (Einbauküche), Elevator (Aufzug) & Parking are also included in the advertisement.

How to Apply For an Apartment

When you find an apartment which satisfies all your needs, be ready to apply for the apartment. As the competition is heavy in finding a property it is always recommended to collect all the required documents in advance and keep it ready.

The Papers necessary are :

  1. Proof of Income. The payslips ( Gehaltabrechnung ) of the last 3 months
  2. Copy of the resident permit and passport
  3. Free of rent-related debts Certificate ( Mietschuldenfreibescheinigung )
  4. Credit Score ( Schufa ) document ( Refer https://www.germanguide4u.com/schufa/ )
  5. Bank statement of the last 3 months

What is Mietschuldenfreiheitbescheinigung ?

It is the document which is given by the landlord of the previous apartment about the tenant. It states that you left the tenancy without any unpaid bills or debts. It is a proof that you are a trusted and potential tenant

Rent

Cold Rent ( Kaltmiete )

The Cold rent is the basic rent to be paid for the apartment living space to the landlord. It is calculated by multiplying the price per square meter and the total living space in square meter.The cold rent does not include any additional costs.

Ancillary Costs ( Nebenkosten/Wohnkosten )

In case of a rented house, there are also additional charges. The additional charges includes the water that is used, oil used for the heating system in the apartment,electricity consumed, charges for the waste disposal. These costs associated with renting the apartment is called ancillary cost.

The nebenkosten are always an estimate, and at the end of the year your landlord will compare your actual usage costs with what you paid, and then it will be evened out. With rising energy costs, most folks end up paying extra at the end of the year because the energy they've used cost more than the monthly payments they made. You can always choose to pay a bit more monthly to make sure that you don't get hit by a larger unexpected bill afterwards, or else make sure that you save a bit extra to prepare for it.

You will most likely end up paying more in nebenkosten, since landlords tend to underestimate the costs to make their apartments look more appealing.

Warm Rent ( Warmmiete )

Coldrent + Ancillary cost= Warm Rent

Know your rights

  1. By law only the party that hired the real estate agent has to pay the agent. Your landlord cannot demand otherwise. You only have to pay a real estate agent, if you hire the agent and if he is offering you a flat
  2. The tenant can give notice according to their contract. A three-month notice period is typical after the initial contract period.
  3. If you don`t pay the rent for more than two months, or the amount you owe your landlord exceeds more than 2 times the normal rent, the landlord has the right to cancel the contract without warning („fristlose Kündigung“). The landlord has to do that in a written letter. But he cannot force you to leave himself, if you don´t leave voluntarily he has to sue you for leaving the flat.
  4. This deposit must not excede the amount equivalent to 3 times of  the net cold rent. So if the net cold rent is 600€ then this must not be more than 1800€.
  5. You should never pay a deposit without a written contract for the flat.
  6. You should never pay a deposit without getting a receipt for the deposit. Try to avoid the payment in cash.
  7. Legally, the landlord has to put the money he receives from you as a deposit in a separate bank account that is in your name (he only has access to it). If he fails to do so,it’s a criminal offence. So if you have any problems with a landlord in the future and you are not sure, where the money from your deposit is: ask for that. And if he fails to answer, give him a last deadline. After that you can report that to the police as a suspicion for a committed crime.

Get a legal expenses insurance! (Rechtsschutzversicherung) Either a general one or one that is for issues with your landlord (Mietrechtsschutzversicherung). Because Germany has very good renter protection and you don’t have a clue what your rights are. And landlords think, that especially international tenants don´t know about their rights, so they will treat you like that.

Mieterverein ( Tenant Production union )

 
When you have problem with the landlord while renting an apartment you can get support from Mieterverein (Tenant production union), an German organization .Membership fees applies. One can get legal advice from this union when there is a problem with the landlords like 
 
  • High Nebenkosten ( utility costs) without clear reason
  • Problems with Plumbing, heating defects etc.. who will pay Bills? Are you responsible for any damages?
  • Staircase cleaning turns, rules etc.
  • Any increase in sudden rent allowed ?or if the ownership of your apartment is changed and Is the cost changes allowed ?
  • Usage of the garden,garage of the apartment
  • Dispute with Neighbors 
 
To register for Tenant production union near your house , please give your Postal code in the given link and find the nearby Union and get support www.mieterbund.de

Moving In/Out

Before moving to another property the notice ( Kundigungsfrist ) has to be given for the current property in the right time.

All the contracts related to the property has to cancelled such as electricity, internet and the other utilities. The contracts related to the proprty will be taken care by the landlord.

The internet and telephone contracts can either be cancelled or bargained for the best deals to be offered in the next property too. But before that the speed has to be checked 

Normally an inspection is done when you move in and out any apartments. The details and conditions of the house such as  wall paints and are being noted down. And the house has to be returned as received and white washed. When you stay in the same apartment for 5 years and more then no white washing is required. It has to be done by the landlord then. All the additional fixtures has to be removed such as nails,curtain rails etc.

There is also a Moving Notification Service available free of cost in the Deutsche Post. This service automatically informs bank and for the other companies where you are a customer. There is a Mail forwarding request in the Deutsche Post.All the mails you receive in the old address will be redirected to the new address you give for upto 24 months. Charges apply for the request. For more info click this link www.deutschepost.de/de/u/post-umzug

The shifting transportation has to be arranged by yourself. There are packing and moving companies which makes the shifting more easy but expensive. The less cheap way is to rent a truck all by yourself and moving things with a bunch of friends. The vehicles to transport things can be done in SixT, Buchbinder, CarToGo.

Common Abbreviations in Housing

House & Utilities

  • App.(Apartment) - Studio
  • Maisonette - A flat with 2 floors
  • WG (Wohngemeinschaft) - Flat share
  • Blk. (Balkon) - Balcony
  • Parkette - Hardwood Floors
  • Aufzug - Elevator
  • Terr. (Terasse) - Terrace
  • möbl.Zi. (Möbliertes Zimmer) - Furnished room
  • WaMa (Waschmaschine) - Washing Machine
  • zur miete - For rent
  • AR (Abstellraum) - Store room
  • F-Raum (Fahrradraum) - Bike stand room
  • UG (Untergeschoss) - Basement
  • HH (Hinterhaus) - Backyard
  • Seitenstrasse - Side street
  • DG (Dachgeschoss) - Top Floor
  • Etage - Floor

Flat size

  • Zi (zimmer) - Room
  • qm (Quadrameter) - Square meters
  • Nft. (Nutzfläche) - Usable area
  • SZ (schlaf zimmer) - Bedroom
  • Bad (badzimmer) - Bathroom

Rent

  • Miete - Rent
  • jahrl. (jährlich) - Yearly
  • JM (Jahresmiete) - Yearly rent
  • MP (Mietpreis) - Rent price
  • mtl. (Monatlich) - Monthly
  • KT (kaution) - Deposit

Heating

  • Hzg. (Heizung) - Heating
  • ZentralHeizung - Central heating
  • FW (Fermwärme) - District heating
  • GZ-Hzg (Gas Heizung) - Central Gas heating
  • Öz - Hzg (Oil Heating) - Central Oil heating
  • FB (Fußboden Heizung) - Floor heating