Letting furnished to students: lease, Kaution and handover
What you can put in the lease, how much Kaution (deposit) you can ask for, and how to record the room and furniture each time the tenant changes.
Letting a furnished flat to students is a normal residential tenancy, unless it is a room in your own flat. Ask for at most three months' rent as security, and record the room and furniture at every move-in.
What a lease with students needs
Students move more often than other tenants. These points save you arguments the next time the tenant changes.
- 1
Pick the right type of lease
The lease can be open-ended, fixed-term with a genuine ground, or a lease for a room in your own flat.
- 2
Show the parts of the rent
Show the net rent, the furniture surcharge and the Nebenkosten (service charges) separately.
- 3
Cap the Kaution
The Kaution can be at most three months' rent. The tenant can pay it in instalments, and you confirm receipt in writing.
- 4
A parental guarantee counts too
If you ask for a parental guarantee, it has to fit within the three months' rent.
- 5
Attach an Inventarliste
The Inventarliste (inventory list) names every piece of furniture by room, with quantity, year and condition.
- 6
Record the handover
Record the room and the furniture at move-in, and compare them at move-out.
Why this matters
Your tenant does not pay for normal wear on furniture (§ 538 BGB). You can only deduct if it is certain that the room and furniture were intact at move-in. With students, a new move-in comes round often.
General information, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make the lease run until the end of the degree?
No, a lease that runs “until the end of the degree” would be open-ended. The end of a degree is not a ground for a fixed term under § 575 BGB, and a degree course does not count as temporary use.
Can I ask for a Kaution and a parental guarantee together?
You can ask for both, but only up to three months' rent in total, not counting Nebenkosten (§ 551 BGB). If the parents offer a guarantee without you asking for it, that guarantee can be higher.
Does the Mietpreisbremse apply to a furnished student room?
Yes, the Mietpreisbremse (rent brake) applies to a furnished student room, except for temporary use or a furnished room in your own flat (§ 549 Abs. 2 BGB). You can add a reasonable surcharge for the furniture.
Also in this topic: Letting a furnished flat in Germany: law, rent, handoverMöblierungszuschlag: how much surcharge is allowedHanding over a furnished flat: furniture and appliances
Is a student moving into your furnished flat soon?
Have the Inventarliste signed and record every room with its furniture before you hand over the keys. BildProof guides you through the flat and creates a structured condition report.
Create your proof