Guides for landlords

For damage to a rented flat in Germany, landlords get the current value, not the price of new. How to work out new for old and when you can add VAT (§ 249 BGB).

A Kaution settlement template to copy: deposit plus interest, each deduction with room, proof and current value, money held back for Nebenkosten, payout.

Holding a Mietkaution: at most three months' net rent, kept separate, protected if you go bankrupt, with interest that is the tenant's (§ 551 BGB).

Landlords can keep back from the Kaution only what they can prove. What you have to show, how long you can take to check, and one real court case.

Smoking in a rented flat in Germany counts as normal use. The tenant only pays for repainting if the clause is valid. What else you can claim and what to prove.

Vollmacht template for landlords at a flat handover in Germany. Your proxy can take back keys and sign, but not waive claims or release the Kaution.

A pre-inspection (Vorabnahme) before move-out is voluntary in Germany. With a clear list the tenant fixes much of it. What to list, and why the handover decides.

Every deadline at a change of tenant for private landlords: notice, § 548 BGB, Kaution, Nebenkosten, Wohnungsgeberbestätigung and Mietpreisbremse in one table.

Übergabeprotokoll template for landlords in Germany to copy and print: every room, meters, keys, Kaution, agreed deductions and a reservation for hidden damage.

At move-out the tenant says: that is normal wear. What you can charge as damage, what you have to prove, and one real court case.

A move-out photo shows the damage, but not when it appeared. Five things landlords should know about photos, and one real court case.

A signed Übergabeprotokoll proves in court what both sides declared (§ 416 ZPO). Confirming “no defects” when the flat is returned can cost you later claims.

Move-in day decides what you can deduct from the Kaution at move-out. Five things for the move-in record, and one real court case.

The move-out Übergabeprotokoll binds both sides: what you leave out or cross out is usually lost. Five things before you sign, and one real court case.

Viewings for a sale or re-let in Germany: the tenant must usually allow 1 to 3 appointments a month with proper notice. The rules for landlords.

In Germany the tenant does not pay for wear on furniture (§ 538 BGB). For real damage you get the current value, not the price of a new one. How to tell them apart.

The Inventarliste for a furnished flat in Germany: by room, with quantity, year, price and condition. Why you also need move-in photos to back a deduction.

Inventarliste template for a furnished flat in Germany to copy and print: by room, with quantity, year, price, condition, a move-out column and signature lines.

Letting furnished to students in Germany: why “until graduation” is not a fixed term, the rules on Kaution and parental guarantees, and how to record the furniture.

Letting furnished in Germany: the Mietpreisbremse, fixed terms and protection against termination still apply. What that means for the furniture and handovers.

The Möblierungszuschlag in Germany: allowed even under the Mietpreisbremse if it matches the furniture's current value. How to set it, the 2026 bill, and proving it.

Handing over a furnished flat in Germany: room by room with the Inventarliste, test the appliances, count small items, both sign. What makes the difference at move-out.

Wohnen auf Zeit in Germany: an end date alone does not make a lease fixed-term. When temporary use applies and which reasons § 575 BGB allows.

Raising an Indexmiete under § 557b BGB: the VPI formula, the one-year wait between changes, and the notice by letter or email. How to work out the new rent.

Mieterhöhung under § 558 BGB: the rent must be unchanged for 15 months and can rise by at most 20% in three years, or 15% in tight markets. Steps and deadlines.

The Mietpreisbremse caps the rent when you re-let at 10% above the local comparable rent (§ 556d BGB). Exceptions, what you must tell the tenant, and deadlines.

After a modernisation you can add 8% of the costs to the annual rent (§ 559 BGB), at most €3/m² more monthly rent within six years. How to announce it.

Passing the Grundsteuer on to tenants: allowed under § 2 Nr. 1 BetrKV, but only with a pass-on clause in the lease. What the 2025 reform changes.

Heizkostenabrechnung in Germany: bill 50 to 70% by use or the tenant can cut 15%, deliver within 12 months (§ 556 BGB), and which costs you can pass on.

Nebenkostenabrechnung in Germany: it must reach the tenant within 12 months of the end of the billing period (§ 556 BGB). Costs you can pass on, and common mistakes.

Can landlords ban pets in Germany? A blanket ban on dogs and cats is void (BGH, VIII ZR 168/12). What applies to dogs, cats and small animals in a rental.

A Kleinreparaturklausel needs two caps: to be safe, €100 to €120 per repair and 6 to 8% of the annual net rent. If either is missing, the clause is void.

Maklerprovision on a rental: whoever hires the agent pays, usually the landlord (Bestellerprinzip, § 2 Abs. 1a WoVermRG). Passing it on to the tenant is void.

Creating a Mietvertrag: name the parties, the flat, the rent and the start date (§§ 535 ff. BGB). Plus written form, fixed terms, Kaution cap and void clauses.

Staffelmiete or Indexmiete: both must be agreed in writing, and the rent stays the same for at least 12 months at a time (§§ 557a, 557b BGB). Rules and limits.

When a tenant dies in Germany: who steps into the lease (§§ 563, 563a BGB), the special right to give notice under § 564 BGB, and the handover with the heirs.

Eigenbedarfskündigung (§ 573 Abs. 2 Nr. 2 BGB): who you can claim own use for, what the letter must say, 3, 6 or 9 months' notice, and the risk of faking it.

Landlords can give notice only with a legitimate interest (§ 573 BGB), such as own use. In writing, 3, 6 or 9 months' notice, or termination without notice.

Evicting a tenant who does not pay: terminate without notice at two months' arrears (§ 543 BGB), file a Räumungsklage, then the bailiff clears the flat.

If a tenant wants to sublet part of the flat and has a legitimate interest, you usually have to agree (§ 553 BGB). When you can refuse or add a surcharge.

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.

You declare rental income on the Anlage V: income minus Werbungskosten, building AfA usually 2% a year (§ 7 EStG). Due by 31 July of the following year.

Taxing rental income in Germany 2026: only the surplus after expenses and depreciation is taxed (§ 21 EStG), at your personal rate, declared on the Anlage V.

A landlord's damage claims expire six months after the flat is returned (§ 548 BGB). When the clock runs, what pauses it, and how to claim in time.

A neglected or hoarded flat after move-out or eviction in Germany: what § 885a ZPO says about records, who pays and why to record the condition before clearing.

Energieausweis when renting out in Germany: show it at the viewing without being asked and give the tenant a copy after signing (§ 80 GEG). Valid for ten years.

Noisy tenant in Germany: document the incidents, send a written Abmahnung and terminate only if the noise goes on (§ 543 Abs. 3, § 569 Abs. 2 BGB).

Unpaid by the third working day, a tenant is in default without a Mahnung (§ 286 BGB). How to send one, charge late-payment interest and when you can end the lease.

After a Mängelanzeige the landlord must repair (§ 535 BGB), and the rent reduces with no deadline needed. A reasonable repair deadline: 24 hours to 4 weeks.

Landlords in Germany have no general right of access. When you can enter the flat, how much notice to give, and when unannounced entry is 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.