Ending Your Lease as a Tenant in Germany: Notice and Form (2026)
Ending Your Lease as a Tenant in Germany: Notice and Form
Three months, always, whatever the length of the tenancy (§ 573c Abs. 1 BGB).
For the current month to count, notice must arrive by the third working day. You need give no reason, but it must be in writing with your own signature (§ 568 BGB). Email or WhatsApp will not do.
§ 573c Abs. 1 BGBIn 60 seconds
Your period is a fixed three months and does not lengthen with the tenancy (§ 573c Abs. 1 BGB): unlike the landlord's, which grows after five and after eight years.
For the current month to count as the first of the three, notice must arrive by the third working day. Working days are Monday to Saturday; Sundays and public holidays do not count.
Notice must be in writing: a paper letter with your own handwritten signature (§§ 568, 126 BGB). Email, WhatsApp, SMS and fax do not suffice.
Where several people are named in the tenancy, all tenants must sign, otherwise the notice is ineffective.
What counts is not the date you send it but the date it reaches the landlord; that risk is yours.
What the law says
Notice is permissible by the third working day of a calendar month to take effect at the end of the month after next. For the landlord the period lengthens by three months after five and after eight years since the property was handed over; for the tenant it stays at three months. Working translation; the German original is the binding text.
When you can leave sooner, or at once
| Situation | Right | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| The landlord raises the rent (comparable rent or modernisation) | special right to terminate (§ 561 BGB) | notice by the end of the second month after receipt; the tenancy ends at the end of that following month and the increase is not payable |
| A substantial defect or a health hazard | termination without notice (§§ 543, 569 BGB) | immediate end possible, as a rule only after a warning and a deadline |
With the special right after a rent increase, the period runs from receipt of the increase declaration. For termination without notice you must as a rule warn the landlord first and give them an opportunity to remedy, only exceptionally can the warning be dispensed with.
Related: Leaving early by proposing a successor and Termination for the landlord's own use: what tenants can do.
What it means for each side
- Count three months back from the end date you want and send in good time.
- Sign on paper, and where there are several tenants, all of you.
- Secure proof of delivery, for instance by recorded delivery.
- You need give no reason.
- Acknowledge receipt with a date.
- Check that every tenant named in the contract has signed.
- Notice that fails the form requirement does not end the tenancy.
- Your own period follows the length of the tenancy, not the tenant's.
Common mistakes
Arrive after the third working day and the end of the tenancy moves a whole month.
Two names in the contract means both must sign.
Without a signed paper letter the notice fails the form requirement.
What counts is when the landlord has it, and without recorded delivery or a witness that is hard to prove.
What to do next
Fix the end date you want and count three months back.
Draft the letter: notice to the earliest possible date, no reason needed.
Have every tenant named in the contract sign it by hand.
Deliver provably, so arrival by the third working day can be shown.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the notice period for tenants?
For tenants the ordentliche Kündigung (ordinary termination) notice period is always three months, whether you have lived in the flat for one year or twenty (§ 573c Abs. 1 BGB). It does not grow with the length of your tenancy; only the landlord's notice period lengthens over time.
By when must the landlord receive the Kündigung for the month to count?
The Kündigung must reach the landlord by the third working day of a month for that month to count as the first of the three (§ 573c Abs. 1 BGB). If it arrives later, the period only starts the following month. What matters is receipt, not the date you sent it.
Is a Kündigung by email or WhatsApp valid?
No. Terminating a residential Mietvertrag requires Schriftform (written form) with a handwritten signature (§ 568 BGB together with § 126 BGB). Email, WhatsApp, fax or a verbal notice are invalid. You need a signed paper letter.
Do I have to give a reason as a tenant?
No. For an ordentliche Kündigung tenants do not have to state a reason. The duty to give a reason applies only to landlords, who must show a legitimate interest (§ 573 BGB).
Can I leave sooner after a Mieterhöhung?
Yes. If the landlord raises the rent to the ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete (local comparable rent) or announces a Modernisierung (modernisation), you have a Sonderkündigungsrecht (special right of termination) under § 561 BGB. You can give notice up to the end of the second month after receiving the Mieterhöhung (rent increase); the tenancy then ends at the end of that following month, and you do not pay the increase.
When can I terminate without notice?
Fristlose Kündigung (termination without notice) is only possible for an important reason, such as serious defects or a health hazard from the flat (§§ 543, 569 BGB). As a rule you must first warn the landlord and set a deadline to fix the problem.
This page gives general information as at the date shown. It does not replace legal advice on an individual case.