Renting in Germany: Kaltmiete, three months' deposit and who pays the agent
The German rent you see is almost never what you pay: on top of the Kaltmiete come the Nebenkosten. The deposit may legally be three months' basic rent (in three instalments), the agent is paid by whoever engaged him, the rent may rise by at most 20% in three years, and you give notice with three months while the landlord needs a reason. And without a landlord's confirmation you can't register anywhere.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Renting in Germany is hard in the big cities, because the market is tight. But it is also tightly regulated, and the rules protect you more often than the landlord:
- The deposit is capped at three months' basic rent and may be paid in three instalments.
- The agent is paid by whoever engaged him.
- The rent may rise by at most 20% in three years.
- The landlord cannot give you notice without a statutory reason, while you can leave with three months.
Kaltmiete and Warmmiete: read the advert carefully
The price in the advert is usually the Kaltmiete: the basic rent. On top come the Nebenkosten, the service charges. Together that is called the Warmmiete.
The law lists what may fall under the Nebenkosten:
- the property tax
- water and sewage
- heating and hot water
- the lift
- street cleaning and waste collection
- cleaning and lighting of the building
- the garden
- the chimney sweep
- insurance
- the caretaker
- the cable or aerial installation
What is not on that list may not be passed on. Always ask for the Warmmiete and for the latest Nebenkostenabrechnung, the annual statement. The advance payments are settled annually, and an advance set too low is a back-payment in your first year.
Electricity and internet you arrange on top yourself. The rent is due at the start of the month, by the third working day at the latest.
The deposit: at most three months' basic rent, in instalments
The Kaution (the deposit) is legally capped at three times the Kaltmiete. The Nebenkosten don't count.
You don't have to pay it in one go. The law gives you the right to pay in three equal monthly instalments: the first at the start of the tenancy, the next two with the rent of the following months.
The landlord must put the money separately from his own assets, in an interest-bearing account. The interest is yours and is added to the deposit. A landlord who asks for more or refuses the right to instalments is simply in breach. A deviating agreement to your disadvantage is void.
| Rule | What the law says | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit | at most 3 × the Kaltmiete, in 3 monthly instalments, invested separately and bearing interest | BGB §551 |
| Agent | paid by whoever gave the order; no advances | WoVermRG §2 |
| Initial rent in designated tight markets | at most 10% above the local comparative rent | BGB §556d, up to and including 2029 |
| Rent increase | only after 15 months of unchanged rent, and at most 20% in 3 years (15% in designated areas) | BGB §558 |
| Notice by you | by the third working day of a month, to the end of the month after next — roughly three months | BGB §573c |
| Notice by the landlord | only with a legitimate interest, such as own use; the period grows by 3 months after 5 and 8 years | BGB §573 and §573c |
The agent: whoever orders him, pays him
Since the Bestellerprinzip (the principle "whoever orders, pays"), a letting agent may only charge the party that gave him the order. For rental homes that is almost always the landlord.
Does an agent at the viewing suddenly want "Provision" (commission) from you for a home he is offering on the landlord's behalf? Then he is asking for something the law prohibits. Advances are prohibited anyway.
In designated tight housing markets the Mietpreisbremse, the rent brake, applies on top. The initial rent may be at most 10% above the local comparative rent, until the end of 2029 at the latest.
What about notice and rent increases?
Here German law is strikingly tenant-friendly.
You give notice with a period of roughly three months: by the third working day of a month, to the end of the month after next.
The landlord can only give notice with a legitimate interest, which he must state in the letter. Think of own use for himself or family, or a serious breach of contract. Giving notice in order to raise the rent is excluded. His period grows too: after five and after eight years, three months each time.
A rent increase up to the local comparative rent is only possible once the rent has been unchanged for fifteen months. Within three years the rent may then rise by at most 20%, in designated areas 15%. A landlord who "follows the market" without those limits isn't following the law.
Temporary or furnished lets fall outside part of this protection. Living space let only for temporary use, or a furnished room in the landlord's own home, falls outside the Mietpreisbremse, the increase rules and the protection against notice. Handy as a first address for the Anmeldung, but no basis for the long term.
The paperwork: what you lay out as a newcomer
In practice landlords ask for a package of proof:
- proof of income or an employer's statement
- a SCHUFA extract (the German credit register)
- sometimes a Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung, a statement from your previous landlord that you had no rent arrears
As a newcomer you have no SCHUFA history and no German landlord yet. Compensate with what you do have:
- your employment contract
- a landlord's statement from the Netherlands (you may have it drawn up and translated yourself)
- if need be, an offer of extra months in advance
Be open about it. An empty SCHUFA is not a bad SCHUFA, and landlords know that. The German bank account is the start of that history.
And then: the confirmation that unlocks everything
At the handover of the keys you want one thing in black and white: the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung, the landlord's confirmation. Your landlord is legally obliged to confirm in writing within two weeks that you have moved in. Without that paper you can't register at the Bürgeramt, and without Anmeldung nothing else starts in Germany. So ask for it straight away, not next week.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Germany or go straight to step 4.1 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- BGB §551 — the deposit limit of three months, the three instalments and the separate interest-bearing account — gesetze-im-internet.de
- WoVermRG §2 — the Bestellerprinzip, and the ban on advances — gesetze-im-internet.de
- BGB §556d — the Mietpreisbremse, up to and including 2029 — gesetze-im-internet.de
- BGB §558 — rent increase up to the comparative rent, at most 20% in three years — gesetze-im-internet.de
- BGB §573 and §573c — termination by the landlord only with a reason, and the notice periods — gesetze-im-internet.de
- Betriebskostenverordnung §2 — what may be passed on as Nebenkosten — gesetze-im-internet.de
- BMG §19 — the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung — gesetze-im-internet.de
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