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 — and without a landlord's confirmation you can't register anywhere.
The German rental market is tight in the big cities, but it is also tightly regulated — and the rules protect you more often than the landlord. Whoever knows the four core concepts doesn't negotiate from ignorance.
Kaltmiete and Warmmiete: read the advert carefully
The price in the advert is usually the Kaltmiete — the basic rent. On top come the Nebenkosten (heating, water, drainage, cleaning of the stairwell; together the Warmmiete), and in older buildings those add up considerably. Always ask for the Warmmiete and for the latest Nebenkostenabrechnung: the advance payments are settled annually, and an advance estimated too low is a back-charge in your first year. Electricity and internet you arrange yourself on top of that.
The deposit: at most three months' basic rent, in instalments
The Kaution is legally capped at three times the Kaltmiete — the Nebenkosten don't count. And you don't have to pay it in one go: the law gives you the right to pay in three equal monthly instalments, starting at the beginning of the tenancy. A landlord who asks for more or refuses the right to instalments is simply in breach — you may point that out politely.
The agent: whoever orders him, pays him
Since the Bestellerprinzip a letting agent may only charge the party that gave him the assignment — and with rental homes that is almost always the landlord. An agent who at the viewing suddenly wants to see "Provision" from you for a home he is offering on behalf of the landlord is asking for something the law forbids. In designated tight housing markets the Mietpreisbremse also applies: the starting rent there may be at most 10% above the local comparable rent.
The paperwork: what you lay out as a newcomer
In practice landlords ask for a package of evidence: proof of income or an employer's statement, a SCHUFA extract (the German credit register) and sometimes a Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung — a statement from your previous landlord that you had no rent arrears. As a newcomer you don't yet have a SCHUFA history or a German landlord; compensate with what you do have: your employment contract, a landlord's statement from the Netherlands (having it drawn up and translated yourself is fine) and 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.
And then: the confirmation that unlocks everything
At the handover of the keys you want one thing in black and white: the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung. Your landlord is legally obliged to confirm in writing within two weeks that you have moved in — and without that paper you can't register at the Bürgeramt, and without the Anmeldung nothing else in Germany gets started. So ask him straight away, not next week.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change — when in doubt the source is leading, not this article.
- BGB §551 — the deposit limit of three months — gesetze-im-internet.de
- WoVermRG §2 — the Bestellerprinzip — gesetze-im-internet.de
- BGB §556d — the Mietpreisbremse — gesetze-im-internet.de
- BMG §19 — the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung — gesetze-im-internet.de
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