A Guide To Rental Contracts In Germany

Translators get to see a lot of rental aparment agreements. Big ones, little ones, fat ones, slim ones, unclear ones, long ones and horribly restrictive ones. From outrageous airing regulations to old-fashioned quiet time specifications, from cold rent to hot water, here's what to expect when you exist with a tenancy contract for a flat in Germany. We're also pleased to assist in more information if you truly would like to know what you're entering before you sign on the dotted line.


Almost half of the population in German leas, and till just recently, it's been simple to see why. Rental prices have actually been relatively inexpensive and conditions very favourable for lessees. Yet as rent rates skyrocket in the big cities and as clever residential or commercial property designers get wind of the altering conditions, Red Tape Translation has observed rental contracts getting longer, stricter and scarier (not unlike the rental prices themselves!).


The components of a rental contract


The contract


The Mietvertrag (agreement/ rental contract/ lease) itself consists of some important info such as


- the cost of your lease each month
- whether increases are permitted, and if so, how they are controlled
- the duration of the agreement
- the deposit quantity
- description of the space and any additional fittings or furniture pieces that might be consisted of
- who is accountable for repair work and damages
- how to cancel or extend it
- renovation work
- how to leave the home when you vacate
- your home rules
- the handover report


Typical provisions in German leases


The expense of your lease


There will be a Kaltmiete (cold rent - the easy expense of having the roofing over your head) and after that there will be Nebenkosten (extra charges) such as Betriebskosten (operating expenses for the building like garbage disposal, stairwell cleaning) and Strom- und Heizkosten (heating and electrical energy costs). Both the rent and the extra charges are typically computed or estimated according to the size of your house - the bigger it is, the more you pay. Gas, electricity and telephone agreements are typically the tenant's organization, and it might be possible to choose your own service providers.


Something to keep in mind: the proprietor will frequently estimate the charges in advance and subtract them monthly. At the end of the year, you get an annual statement for operating expenses which works out just how much everything in fact DID cost. If you've paid excessive, you'll get the difference back. Utility contracts typically work similarly: they estimate what you'll pay, subtract it monthly, and then refund or charge the difference at the end of a certain duration.


Rent increases


There was a law presented in 2015 called the Mietpreisbremse to stop rent increases from leaving control. It was embraced in more than 300 German cities. One of the guidelines is that a new rental contract can't require rent of more than 10% of the typical cost for a rented apartment or condo in the area. But newly built apartments are not covered under this guideline, and modernisation measures also give property managers wiggle room to increase the price. Tip: Discover how much the previous tenant paid, even if you've already signed the rental agreement. A property manager can't increase the cost by more than 10% of what the previous tenant was paying (unless they do some modernisation that increases the worth of the flat). If required, you might sign the agreement to protect the flat and after that chase after up the property owner to get your lease minimized (perhaps with some legal support).


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


The duration of the lease


It might be a fixed-term contract or it will be concluded for an unlimited duration. You may get a fixed-term contract if the property manager is planning to utilize the apartment themselves later on down the track, or if it is provided. Fixed-term agreements can be tough to break early, so you'll be liable to occupy the location for the entire term, even if you wish to leave early, unless you can find a suitable replacement occupant and your property manager concurs to this.


The Kaution (Deposit)


Landlords can ask you for 3 months cold rent as a down payment. The property manager has to store this money safely in an escrow account separated from his/her individual financial resources. If the money accrues interest, the interest comes from the tenant and must be paid out when they leave. It's not uncommon to hear expats wondering how to get their deposit back as soon as they have actually left the house, and being shocked that it takes months. The proprietor has six months to return the deposit to you after you leave, plus any interest the amount accumulated, minus any outstanding financial obligations for which you might be responsible, say for damages to the residential or commercial property or due to rent financial obligations. As tempting as it might be, you can enter into trouble if you simply withhold your last 2 warm rental payments and tell your landlord to "keep the deposit".


You'll find a good and extremely thorough guide to rental deposits at All About Berlin.


Kündigung (Termination)


The statutory notification duration for terminating rental contracts as an occupant is 3 months. The longer you've resided in the apartment, the more see your property owner needs to provide you if they require you to leave: three months if you've been there for less than 5 years, six months if you have actually been there for fewer than 8 years, up to an optimum of 9 months notification.


Provision (Commission)


You do not need to pay the broker, real estate representative or person offering you a rental flat a commission any longer - given that 2015, this has actually been prohibited. Since the need for rental residential or commercial properties is so high in big cities, plenty of people want to turn a blind eye and pay a commission anyway to be favoured as an occupant.


Housing regulations


These govern the behaviour within the building and treatment of the residential or commercial property. You'll typically discover them held up on the wall inside the building somewhere. Typical guidelines to be discovered in your home guidelines: whether you are enabled to have a clothes dryer in the home, when you are not permitted to make noise, whether you can keep pets, how to air and heat your house correctly, how to utilize the bins correctly etc. They are infamous 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 in spite of the statutory "peaceful time" might depend on how unwinded your neighbours are and whether they complain to the Hausverwaltung (housing administration).


Operational expenses ordinance


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


Übergabeprotokoll (Handover report)


You and the representative/ property owner will examine the apartment or condo, 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. If the property owner has actually promised you repairs, make certain they were done or there's an appointment scheduled to have them done and get them noted in the handover report.


How can I get assist with the small print?


I 'd be pleased to send you a quote to equate your whole rental contract. A 5-page rental contract may cost 200 Euros, a 20-page lease is most likely to set you back around 800-1000 Euros, depending on how complex it is. If this is not sensible and you're under time pressure, send me the contract and I'll send you a quote for a visit to go through the primary points in individual or over Skype, for around half the price of a written translation.


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


Reader Interactions


Comments


1. Andreas Moser states


January 25, 2019 at 11:32 pm


I feel like this is the serious and better variation to my tirade 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 agreements last week, one had its own annex particularly for airing that stipulated airing 4 times a day for no longer than 5-10 minutes, emphasized that tilting wasn't sufficient, the window needed to be open entirely. It continued about not allowing 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 info. How would you tackle adding a clause for Lifelong Living rights to the Rental Agreement? I own a home in Germany and my Stepmom presently lives there. Her agreement will be up next year however I want to give her long-lasting living right.


Thank You


June 30, 2020 at 1:21 pm


I am uncertain, but here's a directory site of English-speaking legal representatives, in case you remain in Berlin. Even if you're not, they may be delighted to seek advice from by phone. Cheers, Kathleen.



3. Brian Pendergast states


September 1, 2020 at 3:23 pm


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


September 9, 2020 at 10:40 pm


I just did a quick check - property owners can add an extra charge for furnishings, but there are limits - you can charge 2% of the worth of the furnishings however it assumes complete depreciation after ten years. So it depends upon just how much the furniture cost and also how old the furniture is. E.g if the furnishings cost 5,000 EUR and was new at the time of the occupancy, the property manager could charge 100 EUR monthly. There is a formula but it's late and my brain hurts. 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 wondering 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 agreement/ lease with our flat. We are required in the lease to provide a 2 month notice to end. My concern is, if we were to offer the two month notification and leave before completion of the contract term, are we still entitled to get our deposit back? And are we not required to pay the staying months lease?
We are preparing to leave 2 months early, so 10 months of the 12 month agreement to provide context.


April 28, 2021 at 9:15 pm


If you offer two months notification, you can leave sooner, but youll still have to pay the two months in full. This is unless you can negotiate with your proprietor and get something in writing, e.g. by discovering a "Nachmieter" (brand-new renter) to take control of those two months for you. You'll get your deposit back ultimately as long as whatever is done contractually and you do not owe any money, however don't anticipate it to happen quickly. It can take 6 months sometimes to see the money.



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 specified on the operating expense in the rental contract, are we obliged to spend 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 expenses that the owner usually covers. Whether the owner then thinks about those 2 costs when computing the rental cost per square metre is another story, naturally. I don't understand whether the owner is entitled to include those things particularly in the operating expenses or not. And if they are neither specified in the operating expense nor included in your cold rent, I would discover it odd for you as the occupant to then get those expenses. I 'd recommend that you join the Mieterverein in your city and ask them. Feel free to report back, that is an odd one!



7. Eunice states


January 13, 2022 at 10:19 am


Hi, my name is Eunice, I need a little assistance, we found a home that we like but the agent informed us that the property manager will offer us the home if we consent to live there for the minimum of 3 years, so we asked to lower it the 3 years the agent stated is the brand-new law and if we should break it, they will take our deposit. My concern now is, which law is that or is the agent attempting to force to sign to a long lease.


Reply


- Kathleen Parker says


February 23, 2022 at 4:13 pm


Much to my surprise, this is permissible. Minimum rental terms can be approximately 4 years. Here's more info.