A Guide to Rental Contracts In Germany

Translators get to see a great deal of rental aparment agreements. Big ones, small ones, fat ones, slim ones, unclear ones, long ones and horribly restrictive ones. From outrageous airing policies to antiquated quiet time specifications, from cold lease to hot water, here's what to anticipate when you're presented with an occupancy agreement for a flat in Germany. We're likewise delighted to assist in more detail if you really would like to know what you're entering before you sign on the dotted line.

Almost half of the population in German leas, and up until recently, it's been simple to see why. Rental costs have been reasonably low-cost and conditions really beneficial for lessees. Yet as lease costs soar in the big cities and as clever residential or commercial property designers get wind of the altering conditions, Red Tape Translation has seen rental contracts getting longer, stricter and scarier (not unlike the rental costs themselves!).

The elements of a rental agreement

The contract

The Mietvertrag (contract/ rental agreement/ lease) itself includes some crucial details such as

- the cost of your rent monthly
- whether boosts are allowed, and if so, how they are managed
- the duration of the contract
- the deposit amount
- description of the space and any extra fittings or pieces of furnishings that may be consisted of
- who is accountable for repair work and damages
- how to cancel or extend it
- remodelling work
- how to leave the apartment when you abandon
- your home rules
- the handover report

Typical provisions in German leases

The expense of your rent

There will be a Kaltmiete (cold lease - the simple cost of having the roofing over your head) and then there will be Nebenkosten (additional charges) such as Betriebskosten (operating expense for the building like waste disposal, stairwell cleaning) and Strom- und Heizkosten (heating and electrical power costs). Both the rent and the extra charges are generally computed or estimated according to the size of your house - the bigger it is, the more you pay. Gas, electricity and telephone contracts are normally the occupant's company, and it might be possible to pick your own suppliers.

Something to keep in mind: the proprietor will often estimate the charges in advance and deduct them monthly. At the end of the year, you get a yearly declaration for running costs which works out just how much whatever actually DID cost. If you've paid too much, you'll get the difference back. Utility contracts often work likewise: they estimate what you'll pay, deduct it monthly, and then refund or charge the distinction at the end of a particular period.

Rent increases

There was a law presented in 2015 called the Mietpreisbremse to stop lease boosts from leaving control. It was embraced in more than 300 German cities. Among the rules is that a new rental contract can't require rent of more than 10% of the typical cost for a leased apartment in the area. But recently developed homes are not covered under this rule, and modernisation measures likewise provide property managers wiggle space to increase the cost. Tip: Discover just how much the previous tenant paid, even if you have actually already signed the rental agreement. A landlord can't increase the price by more than 10% of what the previous tenant was paying (unless they do some modernisation that increases the value of the flat). If needed, you could sign the contract to protect the flat and THEN go after up the landlord to get your lease minimized (possibly with some legal assistance).

Staffelmiete (stepped rent) indicates that the lease increases every year in line with inflation and the boosts are locked in for the next few years. There is no specific limit here - the increases might be locked in for the next 3 or 5 or ten years. If you're signing among these, see out for how long your dedication is before you can cancel - approximately 4 years is legally permissible. They can't increase your rent for a minimum of one year from finalizing.

The duration of the lease

It may be a fixed-term agreement or it will be concluded for an unlimited period. You may get a fixed-term contract if the landlord is preparing to utilize the house themselves later down the track, or if it is furnished. Fixed-term agreements can be tough to break early, so you'll be accountable to occupy the location for the entire term, even if you desire to leave early, unless you can find an appropriate replacement tenant and your property manager consents to this.

The Kaution (Deposit)

Landlords can ask you for 3 months cold lease as a down payment. The property owner has to keep this money securely in an escrow account separated from his/her individual finances. If the cash accumulates interest, the interest belongs to the renter and must be paid when they vacate. It's not unusual to hear expats questioning how to get their deposit back once they have actually left the apartment, and being shocked that it takes months. The property owner has six months to return the deposit to you after you leave, plus any interest the sum accrued, minus any arrearages for which you might be accountable, say for damages to the residential or commercial property or due to lease financial obligations. As appealing as it may be, you can enter trouble if you simply keep your last 2 warm rental payments and tell your property owner to "keep the deposit".

You'll discover an excellent and really comprehensive guide to rental deposits at All About Berlin.

Kündigung (Termination)

The statutory notice period for ending rental agreements as a renter is 3 months. The longer you've lived in the apartment or condo, the more discover your property owner has to provide you if they need you to abandon: three months if you've been there for less than five years, six months if you've been there for fewer than 8 years, up to an optimum of 9 months notification.

Provision (Commission)

You don't need to pay the broker, realty representative or person offering you a rental flat a commission anymore - since 2015, this has been prohibited. Since the demand for rental residential or commercial properties is so high in big cities, a lot of people want to turn a blind eye and pay a commission anyhow to be favoured as an occupant.

Housing regulations

These govern the behaviour within the structure and treatment of the residential or commercial property. You'll usually discover them held up on the wall inside the structure somewhere. Typical guidelines to be found in your home guidelines: whether you are allowed to have a clothing dryer in the home, when you are not allowed to make sound, whether you can keep animals, how to air and heat your apartment appropriately, how to utilize the bins correctly and so on. They are notorious for being rigorous and pedantic to the point of outrageous, but you're anticipated to follow them. Whether you get away with vacuuming on a Sunday despite the statutory "quiet time" may depend on how relaxed your neighbours are and whether they complain to the Hausverwaltung (housing administration).

Operational costs ordinance

You may get some excerpts from the Operational Costs Ordinance connected to your rental contract - these govern how property owners can charge renters for all the things required to make the structure function.

Übergabeprotokoll (Handover report)

You and the agent/ landlord will examine the apartment, and they will make notes of preexisting damages, repairs and the condition of the residential or commercial property. If you see a little hole in the wall, point it out, and they'll make a note of it. This is likewise a great time to inspect that the heating works, even in summer season. If the property owner has assured you repair work, make sure they were done or there's an appointment reserved to have them done and get them listed in the handover report.

How can I get help with the fine print?

I 'd be delighted to send you a quote to equate your entire rental contract. A 5-page rental agreement may cost 200 Euros, a 20-page lease is most likely to set you back around 800-1000 Euros, depending upon how complex it is. If this is not reasonable and you're under time pressure, send me the contract and I'll send you a quote for an appointment to go through the main points face to face or over Skype, for around half the price of a written translation.

Filed Under: Relocating To Germany, Doing Business in Berlin, Moving to Berlin, Transferring To Munich Tagged With: agreements, guide, leasing

Reader Interactions

Comments

1. Andreas Moser says

January 25, 2019 at 11:32 pm

I seem like this is the major and better version to my rant about renting in Germany:
https://andreasmoser.blog/2018/05/28/rental-contracts/

January 26, 2019 at 9:07 am

Yes! Yes! Thanks for linking. I just translated 2 rental contracts recently, one had its own annex particularly for airing that stipulated airing 4 times a day for no longer than 5-10 minutes, stressed that tilting wasn't excellent enough, the window needed to be open completely. It went on and on about not permitting the walls to get cold. There were even exclamation marks and even a "wie gesagt" occasionally.

2. Heike Wheatly states

June 21, 2020 at 10:03 pm

Thank You for all of the great information. How would you tackle including a clause for Lifelong Living rights to the Rental Agreement? I own a home in Germany and my Stepmom currently lives there. Her agreement will be up next year but I wish to offer her lifelong living right.

Thank You

June 30, 2020 at 1:21 pm

I am not sure, however here's a directory site of English-speaking legal representatives, in case you remain in Berlin. Even if you're not, they might be delighted to consult by phone. Cheers, Kathleen.

3. Brian Pendergast states

September 1, 2020 at 3:23 pm

Thank you for the details. Do you understand if it is legal to consist of furniture in the expense calculator of the Nebenkosten?

September 9, 2020 at 10:40 pm

I simply did a quick check - proprietors can add an additional cost for furniture, however there are limitations - you can charge 2% of the value of the furnishings but it assumes total devaluation after ten years. So it depends upon just how much the furnishings expense and likewise how old the furnishings is. E.g if the furniture cost 5,000 EUR and was brand-new at the time of the tenancy, the property manager could charge 100 EUR per month. There is a formula but it's late and my brain harms. Here's the website I utilized.

4. Jasper states

March 7, 2021 at 10:00 pm

Hi Kathleen! Thank you for your efforts. I was questioning if there's a template for the Mietvertrag?

April 28, 2021 at 9:19 pm

Oh you can find them all over the place. Just Google "Mietvertrag Vorlage".

5. Christina G states

March 15, 2021 at 1:57 pm

We have a one year contract/ lease with our flat. We are required in the lease to provide a 2 month notice to terminate. My concern is, if we were to give the two month notification and vacate before the end of the contract term, are we still entitled to get our deposit back? And are we not needed to pay the staying months lease?
We are preparing to leave 2 months early, so 10 months of the 12 month contract to offer context.

April 28, 2021 at 9:15 pm

If you offer 2 months notice, you can vacate quicker, but youll still have to pay the two months in full. This is unless you can negotiate with your landlord and get something in composing, e.g. by finding a "Nachmieter" (new tenant) to take control of those two months for you. You'll get your deposit back eventually as long as everything is done contractually and you don't owe any money, but do not expect it to happen rapidly. It can take six months sometimes to see the cash.

6. Jody states

June 21, 2021 at 6:29 am

If the residential or commercial property land tax and residential or commercial property insurance are not stated on the operating expense in the rental contract, are we required to pay for them?

September 10, 2021 at 7:08 am

It's uncommon to hear of an occupant being charged residential or commercial property tax and residential or commercial property insurance coverage. Those are costs that the owner usually covers. Whether the owner then thinks about those two expenses when calculating the rental expense per square metre is another story, obviously. I don't understand whether the owner is entitled to include those things specifically in the operating expense or not. And if they are neither defined in the operating expense nor consisted of in your cold rent, I would discover it odd for you as the renter to then get those expenses. I 'd recommend that you join the Mieterverein in your city and ask. Do not hesitate to report back, that is an odd one!

7. Eunice says

January 13, 2022 at 10:19 am

Hi, my name is Eunice, I require a little assistance, we found an apartment that we like however the representative told us that the property manager will give us your home if we accept live there for the minimum of 3 years, so we asked them to minimize it the 3 years the agent stated is the new law and if we need to break it, they will take our deposit. My concern now is, which law is that or is the agent attempting to require to sign to a long lease.

- Kathleen Parker states