Translators get to see a lot of rental aparment contracts. Big ones, small ones, fat ones, skinny ones, unclear ones, long ones and horribly limiting ones. From unbelievable airing guidelines to old quiet time stipulations, from cold lease to hot water, here's what to anticipate when you're presented with a tenancy contract for a flat in Germany. We're likewise pleased to assist in more detail if you truly wish to know what you're getting into before you sign on the dotted line.

Almost half of the population in German leas, and till recently, it's been simple to see why. Rental rates have been reasonably inexpensive and conditions very favourable for lessees. Yet as lease rates skyrocket in the huge cities and as clever residential or commercial property developers discover the changing conditions, Red Tape Translation has observed rental agreements getting longer, more stringent and scarier (not unlike the rental costs themselves!).

The parts of a rental contract

The agreement

The Mietvertrag (contract/ rental contract/ lease) itself includes some important info such as

- the cost of your lease monthly
- whether increases are permitted, and if so, how they are regulated
- the period of the agreement
- the deposit amount
- description of the space and any additional fittings or furniture pieces that may be included
- who is responsible for repairs and damages
- how to cancel or extend it
- renovation work
- how to leave the house when you vacate
- the house guidelines
- the handover report

Typical clauses in German leases

The expense of your lease

There will be a Kaltmiete (cold lease - the simple cost of having the roof over your head) and after that there will be Nebenkosten (extra charges) such as Betriebskosten (operating expense for the building like garbage disposal, stairwell cleansing) and Strom- und Heizkosten (heating and electrical power costs). Both the lease and the additional charges are usually calculated or approximated according to the size of your apartment - the larger it is, the more you pay. Gas, electricity and telephone contracts are normally the tenant's service, and it might be possible to pick your own suppliers.

Something to bear in mind: the property manager will often approximate the charges in advance and subtract them monthly. At the end of the year, you get an annual declaration for operating expenses which exercises just how much everything in fact DID cost. If you've paid excessive, you'll get the distinction back. Utility agreements often work likewise: they approximate what you'll pay, deduct it monthly, and then refund or charge the difference at the end of a certain period.

Rent increases

There was a law introduced in 2015 called the Mietpreisbremse to stop lease increases from getting out of control. It was adopted in more than 300 German cities. One of the rules is that a new rental agreement can't demand lease of more than 10% of the typical price for a rented home in the location. But newly developed houses are not covered under this guideline, and modernisation steps likewise give landlords wiggle room to increase the price. Tip: Find out just how much the previous tenant paid, even if you've already signed the rental agreement. A landlord can't increase the cost by more than 10% of what the previous occupant was paying (unless they do some modernisation that increases the worth of the flat). If necessary, you could sign the agreement to secure the flat and THEN chase up the proprietor to get your rent decreased (perhaps with some legal assistance).

Staffelmiete (stepped lease) implies that the rent increases every year in line with inflation and the increases are locked in for the next couple of years. There is no particular limitation here - the increases might be secured for the next 3 or 5 or 10 years. If you're signing one of these, look out for for how long your commitment is before you can cancel - as much as 4 years is legally acceptable. They can't increase your rent 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 period. You might get a fixed-term contract if the landlord is planning to use the apartment themselves later down the track, or if it is furnished. Fixed-term agreements can be hard to break early, so you'll be liable to inhabit the location for the entire term, even if you wish to leave early, unless you can find a suitable replacement tenant and your property owner accepts this.

The Kaution (Deposit)

Landlords can ask you for 3 months cold rent as a security deposit. The proprietor has to save this cash safely in an escrow account separated from his/her individual finances. If the money accrues interest, the interest comes from the renter and needs to be paid out when they abandon. It's not unusual to hear expats wondering how to get their deposit back when they've left the house, and being stunned that it takes months. The landlord has 6 months to return the deposit to you after you leave, plus any interest the sum accumulated, minus any exceptional debts for which you might be responsible, say for damages to the residential or commercial property or due to lease arrears. As appealing as it may be, you can enter difficulty if you just keep your last 2 warm rental payments and tell your property owner to "keep the deposit".

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

Kündigung (Termination)

The statutory notification duration for terminating rental agreements as a tenant is three months. The longer you've lived in the apartment or condo, the more see your property manager has to provide you if they require you to abandon: three months if you have actually been there for less than 5 years, six months if you have actually been there for fewer than 8 years, approximately a maximum of nine months notice.

Provision (Commission)

You do not need to pay the broker, genuine estate representative or person offering you a rental flat a commission anymore - considering that 2015, this has actually been illegal. Since the demand for rental residential or commercial properties is so high in big cities, lots of people are ready to disregard and pay a commission anyway to be favoured as a tenant.

Housing policies

These govern the behaviour within the building and treatment of the residential or commercial property. You'll normally discover them held up on the wall inside the building someplace. Typical guidelines to be discovered in your house rules: whether you are enabled to have a clothes dryer in the apartment or condo, when you are not allowed to make sounds, whether you can keep family pets, how to air and heat your apartment effectively, how to utilize the bins correctly and so on. They are infamous for being rigorous and pedantic to the point of absurd, however you're expected to follow them. Whether you get away with vacuuming on a Sunday despite the statutory "peaceful time" may depend upon how relaxed your neighbours are and whether they grumble to the Hausverwaltung (housing administration).

Operational expenses regulation

You might get some excerpts from the Operational Costs Ordinance attached to your rental agreement - these govern how landlords can charge renters for all the important things required to make the structure function.

Übergabeprotokoll (Handover report)

You and the agent/ property owner will check the home, and they will make notes of preexisting damages, repair work 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 an excellent time to check that the heating works, even in summer season. If the landlord has guaranteed you repairs, make sure 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 aid with the little print?

I 'd enjoy to send you a quote to translate your entire rental agreement. A 5-page rental agreement might 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 practical and you're under time pressure, send me the agreement and I'll send you a quote for a consultation to go through the bottom lines face to face or over Skype, for around half the rate of a written translation.

Filed Under: Relocating To Germany, Doing Business in Berlin, Transferring to Berlin, Relocating To Munich Tagged With: contracts, 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 variation 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 connecting. I just translated two rental contracts last week, one had its own annex particularly for airing that specified airing 4 times a day for no longer than 5-10 minutes, stressed that tilting wasn't sufficient, the window had to be open totally. 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 terrific info. How would you set about 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 but I want to offer her lifelong living right.

Thank You

June 30, 2020 at 1:21 pm

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

3. Brian Pendergast states

September 1, 2020 at 3:23 pm

Thank you for the info. Do you know if it is legal to include furnishings in the cost calculator of the Nebenkosten?

September 9, 2020 at 10:40 pm

I just did a fast check - landlords can include an extra charge for furniture, however there are limits - you can charge 2% of the value of the furniture however it assumes complete depreciation after ten years. So it depends upon just how much the furniture expense and likewise how old the furnishings is. E.g if the furnishings cost 5,000 EUR and was new at the time of the occupancy, the landlord could charge 100 EUR each month. There is a formula however it's late and my brain hurts. Here's the site I used.

4. Jasper states

March 7, 2021 at 10:00 pm

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

April 28, 2021 at 9:19 pm

Oh you can discover 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 needed in the lease to provide a two month notification to terminate. My question is, if we were to provide the two month notice 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 remaining months rent?
We are planning to leave two months early, so 10 months of the 12 month agreement to provide context.

April 28, 2021 at 9:15 pm

If you give 2 months notice, you can move out earlier, however youll still have to pay the two months in complete. This is unless you can work out with your proprietor and get something in composing, e.g. by finding a "Nachmieter" (new tenant) to take over those 2 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 take place quickly. It can take six months sometimes to see the cash.

6. Jody says

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 agreement, are we required to spend for them?

September 10, 2021 at 7:08 am

It's unusual to hear of a tenant being charged residential or commercial property tax and residential or commercial property insurance coverage. Those are expenses that the owner typically 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 consist of those things specifically in the operating expenses or not. And if they are neither defined in the operating expense nor included in your cold rent, I would find it odd for you as the renter to then get those costs. I 'd advise that you join the Mieterverein in your city and inquire. Feel complimentary 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 a house that we like but the representative told us that the property owner will offer us your home if we agree to live there for the minimum of 3 years, so we inquired to reduce it the 3 years the representative said is the brand-new law and if we need to break it, they will take our deposit. My question now is, which law is that or is the agent trying to require to sign to a long lease.

Reply

- Kathleen Parker says

February 23, 2022 at 4:13 pm

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