Guides

Raise an Indexmiete under § 557b BGB: the VPI formula, the one-year lock period and the Textform notice. Calculate the new rent correctly.

Mieterhöhung to the ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete: the Kappungsgrenze cap, Mietspiegel, deadlines and form under § 558 BGB, for landlords.

The Mietpreisbremse caps re-letting rent at 10% above the ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete (§ 556d BGB). Exceptions, disclosure duty and deadlines.

After a modernisation you may add 8 % of the costs to the annual rent (§ 559 BGB). Kappungsgrenze, the 3-month notice and the Erhöhungserklärung.

Passing Grundsteuer to tenants: apportionable under § 2 Nr. 1 BetrKV, but only with a clause in the Mietvertrag. What the 2025 reform changes.

How to create a correct Heizkostenabrechnung: the 50–70% by-consumption split, the 15% Kürzungsrecht, deadlines and which costs are umlagefähig, for landlords.

How to create a correct Nebenkostenabrechnung: the 12-month deadline, which costs are umlagefähig, the Umlageschlüssel and common mistakes.

How landlords must hold the Mietkaution: max three Nettokaltmieten, separate from personal assets, insolvency-proof and interest-bearing, § 551 BGB.

When may landlords keep the Kaution? Inspection period, permitted deductions and retention for the Nebenkostenabrechnung, § 551 BGB.

Can landlords ban pets in Germany? What's allowed for dogs, cats and small animals, and why a blanket ban is void (§ 535 BGB, BGH).

Draft a watertight Kleinreparaturklausel: the valid per-repair and annual caps, which repairs count, and when the whole clause becomes void and you pay it all.

Bestellerprinzip for rentals: the landlord pays the Makler (§ 2 WoVermRG). Capped at 2 net cold rents plus VAT; passing it to the tenant is void.

Draft a legally sound Mietvertrag: required details, fixed-term or open-ended, Staffelmiete or Indexmiete, Kaution limits and invalid clauses.

Staffelmiete (§ 557a BGB) or Indexmiete (§ 557b BGB)? How landlords agree a predictable Mieterhöhung, rules, limits and comparison.

Normal wear is covered by the rent (§ 538 BGB). What you may charge as damage, what you must prove, why only current value counts, and the six-month deadline.

The burden of proof is on you as the landlord. What photos need to prove damage: a provable date and a signed Übergabeprotokoll.

What your record carries in litigation: private document (§ 416 ZPO), photos as visual inspection (§ 371 ZPO), and why “no defects” can destroy claims.

The Übergabeprotokoll at move-in: not mandatory, but your most important evidence for the Kaution, meter readings, defects and keys.

Document move-in and move-out properly: what belongs in the Übergabeprotokoll and why it secures your Beweislast for the Kaution.

Viewings for a sale or re-let: how many appointments the tenant must allow, what advance notice applies, and how to organise viewings on solid legal ground.

Eigenbedarfskündigung under § 573 Abs. 2 Nr. 2 BGB: who qualifies, correct justification, notice periods (3/6/9 months) and the risk of faking it.

When and how landlords may terminate a tenancy: legitimate interest, Eigenbedarf, notice periods (3/6/9 months) and fristlose Kündigung under § 573 BGB.

Evicting a non-paying tenant: fristlose Kündigung (§ 543 BGB) at two months' arrears, then Räumungsklage and Zwangsvollstreckung, steps and costs.

When must landlords permit Untervermietung and when may they refuse? § 553 BGB, berechtigtes Interesse, Untermietzuschlag and Kündigung, explained clearly.

Can a foreigner rent out property in Germany? Yes. Non-resident tax (§ 49 EStG), duties under § 556, § 551 and § 80 GEG, and letting from abroad.

Fill in the Anlage V correctly: tax rental income, deduct Werbungskosten and AfA, meet the deadline. Every § and figure for German landlords in 2026.

Taxing rental income as a landlord: income from renting and leasing (§ 21 EStG), deducting income-related expenses and depreciation, the thresholds. For 2026.

Energieausweis when renting out in Germany: when it is mandatory, which type, presenting it at viewings and handover (§ 80 GEG), plus the fine.

Ruhestörung caused by a tenant: quiet hours, the Hausordnung, noise as a defect (§ 536 BGB), Abmahnung through Kündigung (§ 569 BGB), on solid legal ground.

Mietrückstand and Zahlungsverzug: when a tenant is in default, how to issue a Mahnung, calculate Verzugszinsen, and when § 543 BGB allows immediate termination.

Got a Mängelanzeige? What obligates landlords to repair, what deadline applies, and when Mietminderung or Selbstvornahme kick in, §§ 535, 536, 536a, 536c BGB.

Landlords have no general right of access. When you may enter the flat, what notice applies, and when unannounced entry becomes a criminal offence.

The tenant has no legal claim to a Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung (BGH VIII ZR 238/08). When to issue one voluntarily and what belongs in it.

Understand the Mietspiegel: simple (§ 558c BGB) and qualified (§ 558d BGB), the ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete, and how to check a rent increase.

Check your Indexmiete increase yourself: the VPI formula, the minimum one-year gap, Textform with index figures (§ 557b BGB), and what to do if it's wrong.

Check your Mieterhöhung against the Kappungsgrenze, the ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete and the consent deadline under § 558 BGB, and learn exactly how to respond.

Mietpreisbremse check: in designated areas rent may exceed the ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete by at most 10%. How to challenge and reclaim an overcharge.

Modernisation: the landlord may add 8 % of costs (§ 559 BGB), capped at 3 €/m². Duldungspflicht, Härteeinwand and your Sonderkündigungsrecht.

Check a Staffelmiete or Indexmiete: fixed amounts and 12 months per step (§ 557a BGB), VPI link and Textform (§ 557b BGB). Is the increase legal?

Since 2023 tenants and landlords share heating CO₂ costs under a 10-step model (CO2KostAufG). How to check your share, and cut it when it's wrong.

Since 1 July 2024 cable-TV fees can no longer be passed on via the Nebenkosten (end of the Nebenkostenprivileg). How to check your statement, and save money.

Check your Heizkostenabrechnung: the 50–70% consumption rule (§ 7 HeizkostenV), the 15% Kürzungsrecht (§ 12), 12-month deadlines and Belegeinsicht.

Check your Nebenkostenabrechnung: the two 12-month deadlines (§ 556 BGB), which costs are umlagefähig, and how to object to errors.

Most deposits are not lost to damage but to avoidable mistakes at move-in and move-out. The most expensive ones, and how to avoid them.

Your Mietkaution under § 551 BGB: at most three Nettokaltmieten, payable in three instalments. Where it must be held and who gets the interest.

Reclaiming your Kaution (security deposit) under § 551 BGB: landlords get a review period of usually 3–6 months. How to get your deposit back with interest.

Can a foreigner rent in Germany? Yes, tenancy law protects every tenant regardless of nationality. Documents, renting without SCHUFA and your rights.

Can your landlord ban pets? Which animals you may keep without permission, why a blanket ban is void (§ 535 BGB, BGH), and how to get consent.

Kleinreparaturklausel in your Mietvertrag: when do you as a tenant have to pay, and when not? Limits, the 4 requirements, and when the clause is void.

Under the Bestellerprinzip, whoever orders the broker pays (§ 2 Abs. 1a WoVermRG). As a tenant you usually pay nothing, when you do, and how to push back.

Check your Mietvertrag before signing: Kaution capped at 3 Nettokaltmieten (§ 551 BGB); Schönheitsreparatur and Kleinreparatur clauses are often void.

You are not liable for normal wear (§ 538 BGB), but you are for real damage. The dividing line with examples, and why only current value counts.

Photos prove the condition, not the date. A file's date can be edited. What photos are really worth in court (§ 371 ZPO) and how to make them tamper-evident.

How much is your record worth in a dispute? Private document (§ 416 ZPO), photos as visual inspection (§ 371 ZPO), and what “no defects” means.

What to photograph at move-in, room by room, plus the 12 spots almost everyone forgets. The checklist that protects your Kaution.

The Einzugsprotokoll protects your Kaution at move-out. How to document every defect and meter reading at move-in in Germany, and what goes wrong without it.

The Übergabeprotokoll documents the handover. The Wohnungszustand is what the flat actually looked like. Why the difference decides your Kaution.

Wohnungsbesichtigung for sale or re-letting: how often, how long and with what notice must you allow viewings? Your rights as a tenant, clearly explained.

Wohnungsübergabe at move-out: what tenants put in the Übergabeprotokoll, what they are liable for, when they need not renovate, and how to protect the Kaution.

Got an Eigenbedarfskündigung? A valid notice needs a concrete reason (§ 573 BGB). You can object (§ 574 BGB) up to 2 months before the Frist ends.

As a tenant you give three months' notice (§ 573c BGB). Arriving by the 3rd working day, signed on paper. How to do it right.

Want out of your lease early? You have no automatic right to a Nachmieter, but a clause or a special interest can free you. How to do it right.

Splitting rent and Nebenkosten in a WG: joint liability (§ 421 BGB), internal settlement (§ 426 BGB) and fair keys, per head, per m² or by use.

Taking in a subtenant: for part of your flat you have a right to permission (§ 553 BGB). How to request it, and when the landlord may refuse.

When tenants may sublet: § 553 BGB gives a claim to permission for part of the dwelling. How to handle a WG (shared flat) and Untermiete (subletting) correctly.

Energieausweis when renting: the landlord must show it to you unprompted (§ 80 GEG). What your rights as a tenant are, explained in plain English.

Ruhestörung in a German rental: quiet hours, when noise is a defect, how much Mietminderung is allowed, and when a tenant can be evicted.

Landlord won't repair? How to report a Mangel correctly, set a deadline and reduce the rent (§ 536, § 536c BGB), with a template and reduction rates.

Mietminderung for mould, no heating or noise: how much you may reduce, how to report the defect, and why to keep paying under Vorbehalt.

Mould is a Mangel: you may reduce the rent (§ 536 BGB) unless you caused it. Report it in writing at once (§ 536c BGB) and document everything.

Schönheitsreparaturen on move-out: only a valid clause in your Mietvertrag obliges you. Many are void under BGH case law, then you paint nothing.

Can your landlord enter your apartment in Germany? Your rights as a tenant: no general right of access, only with a concrete reason and advance notice.

After moving you must register within 14 days (§ 17 BMG). How the Anmeldung works, what the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung is, and the fine you risk.

No legal right to a Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung (BGH VIII ZR 238/08). What it states, what it costs, and the alternative that works.

Phone photos as proof of guest damage? Why the file date doesn't count, what Airbnb requires since April 2026, and how a photo becomes evidence that holds.

Is there an Airbnb security deposit? How Airbnb handles damage through AirCover since deposits ended, the deadlines that apply, and what actually protects you.

What's the deadline for Airbnb damage claims? The 14-day rule, why the next check-in shortens it, and how to never miss the deadline again.

Is AirCover enough? What the Airbnb program doesn't cover, what the alternatives are, and why your own documentation is the basis of every reimbursement.

How to report guest damage to Airbnb AirCover: deadlines, the Resolution Center, the documentation you need, and the most common mistake that sinks claims.

AirCover won't pay out? The most common reasons Airbnb damage claims get denied, and how a sealed, timestamped record before every booking secures your claim.

Booking.com and Vrbo offer no AirCover-style protection. How their deposits and damage programs work, and why your own proof matters even more.

Which insurance covers guest damage in a short-let? Why standard policies often don't apply, and what every claim requires.

A guest damaged your short-let apartment? What to do in the first hours, how to report it to Airbnb, and how to prove the damage is new, not pre-existing wear.

Guest damage on Airbnb, Booking & Vrbo: what AirCover covers, how to report damage, the deadlines that apply and how to prove damage is new.

How to prove a guest caused new damage: before-and-after, an independent timestamp and a seal that makes any edit visible, the evidence platforms accept.

What to do before, during and after the Abnahme: records, procedure, deadlines, and the one entry that can accidentally bar all your claims.

Information, accounting, surrender: what a property manager owes the owner (§§ 666, 667 BGB), and why handover records belong to the client, not the manager.

Which items hold: filter out wear, apply current value, keep the deadlines, how a Kaution settlement becomes comprehensible instead of contested.

Tenant turnover step by step: pre-inspection, return, deposit settlement and re-letting, with every deadline that runs for a property manager.

One standard across the portfolio: what every handover record must contain, who has to prove what, and the deadlines that run for property managers.

Paper, phone photos or a sealed report: what digitising the handover really delivers, evidential weight, standardisation, and the data-protection questions.