Guides for landlords

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.