Renting a home in Germany

What landlords ask for

• Landlords usually ask for recent payslips and your passport or residence document – copies, not originals. Source
• No payslips yet? Many landlords accept a copy of your employment contract; an informal letter from your employer confirming your job can also help. Source
• Many ask for a Schufa credit report. Only people who have lived in Germany for some time and have a German bank account can get one. Coming straight from abroad, a reference from your bank at home, or a guarantee from a relative in Germany, is sometimes accepted instead. Source
• A voluntary self-disclosure form (Mieterselbstauskunft) is common. Some questions on it are not allowed, and you don't have to answer those truthfully. Source
• Tenancy agreements must be in writing. Source
• Within two weeks of moving in you must register your address at the residents' registration office (Anmeldung). Source
• For the Anmeldung your landlord must confirm that you moved in – the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung. Ask for it when you get the keys. Source

Deposit rules

• The deposit (Kaution) may be at most three months' rent, not counting service charges paid as a flat rate or in advance. Source
• You may pay a cash deposit in three equal monthly instalments; the first is due when the tenancy starts. Source
• The landlord must keep the deposit separate from their own money in a savings account. The interest belongs to you. Source
• There is no legal duty to pay a deposit at all – only if your contract says so. Source
• You get it back when you move out, minus unpaid rent or damage. Source

Your rights as a tenant

• Open-ended tenancy: you can leave with three months' notice in writing. Your landlord needs a legal reason to end it, for example needing the flat themselves (Eigenbedarf), and gives at least three months' notice – longer after many years. Source
• Fixed-term tenancies are only allowed for a reason written into the contract, such as the landlord's own later use or major renovation. Source
• Rent brake (Mietpreisbremse): in areas with a tight housing market, the rent for a new tenancy may be at most 10 % above the local reference rent. Flats first used and let after 1 October 2014 are exempt. Source
• Without a graduated (Staffelmiete) or index (Indexmiete) clause, a rent increase may not exceed the local reference rent, is capped at 15–20 % over three years, and can come at the earliest 15 months after you move in. Source
• The landlord must show you the energy performance certificate (Energieausweis) at the viewing. Source
• If you hire an estate agent to search for you, you pay their commission – only if you get a flat, and agreed in writing. Watch out for fake agents. Source
• Free first advice: local tenants' associations (Mieterverein) and consumer advice centres (Verbraucherzentrale). Source
• The Federal Government has proposed new rules for furnished flats, index rents and short-term lets (“Mietrecht II”, adopted by the cabinet on 29 April 2026). Check the ministry's page for whether they already apply. Source

Your first weeks

Signing a long-term lease for a home you haven't seen is risky. Plan somewhere to stay while you view homes in person.

• Until you find a flat you can stay in a furnished holiday flat, hostel, hotel or youth hostel – but you usually can't register that address as your residence. Source
• A furnished short let (möbliert auf Zeit) for your first months gives you time to collect the payslips and German bank account details that landlords ask for. Source
• Ask your employer: there are often staff forums with tips, and some employers help find accommodation or even act as guarantor. Source
• Tip Ask the hospital's HR team before you arrive whether it has staff rooms or a list of furnished flats nearby.
• Long-term rental flats are usually unfurnished and don't always come with a kitchen. A room in a shared flat (WG) is often the cheaper option in big cities. Source

What rent costs

Official statistics only. Your city can be far above or below the average.

Avoid rental scams

Rental scams work best on people who can't view a home in person – for example because they are still abroad.

Checklist before you pay anything

1. Never pay a deposit, rent or “key fee” for a home that you, or someone you trust, have not viewed in person – and not before you have a signed contract.

   Advice from Report Fraud (UK police) · Scamwatch (Australia) · Verbraucherzentrale (Germany) · Make it in Germany

2. The “landlord” is abroad and can't show you the home, but will send the keys by post or courier once you transfer money. This is the classic scam.

   Advice from German police crime prevention · Verbraucherzentrale (Germany) · Scamwatch (Australia) · US Federal Trade Commission

3. The rent is far below similar homes in the area, or you are pushed to decide and pay quickly.

   Advice from US Federal Trade Commission · Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre · Scamwatch (Australia)

4. You are asked to pay by money transfer service, gift card or cryptocurrency, or into an account abroad. That is like sending cash – it is rarely recovered.

   Advice from US Federal Trade Commission · Scamwatch (Australia) · Report Fraud (UK police)

5. Search the address, the photos and the advertiser's name online. Fraudsters copy photos from real listings, and the same home may appear elsewhere with a different owner.

   Advice from Report Fraud (UK police) · US Federal Trade Commission · Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre · Scamwatch (Australia)

6. Don't send copies of your passport or ID card, or your bank details, to someone you have never met before you have agreed to rent.

   Advice from Verbraucherzentrale (Germany) · US Federal Trade Commission · Scamwatch (Australia)

7. Fees just to view a home are a warning sign. In Germany, charging for a viewing is not permitted.

   Advice from Make it in Germany · German police crime prevention

8. If you paid: call your bank at once, keep every message and the listing, and report it (links on each country page). Hang up on anyone who later offers to “recover” your money for a fee.

   Advice from Report Fraud (UK police) · Scamwatch (Australia)

Where people search

Make it in Germany suggests searching for “Wohnung + city” or “WG + city” and replying fast – ads are often online for only a day or two. Local newspapers' weekend editions and housing associations (Wohnungsgenossenschaften, membership and waiting list) are other routes. Source

• ImmoScout24 Flats and houses to rent
• Immowelt Flats and houses to rent
• Kleinanzeigen Classifieds, including flats and rooms
• WG-Gesucht Rooms in shared flats and short lets
• Wunderflats Furnished flats, monthly
• HousingAnywhere Furnished rooms and flats, mid to long term

Plain links to the main rental sites. PassPeers has no partnership with them. We don't copy or check their listings – use the scam checklist above for every ad.

Agencies that help you relocate

No relocation agency is listed for Germany yet.

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