Guides / Shared flats & subletting
Shared flats & subletting
Subletting, finding a successor tenant and life in a shared flat (WG).
In a WG (flatshare), tenancy law meets everyday life: who is liable for the rent (usually everyone jointly, § 421 BGB), how are the Nebenkosten split fairly, and when may a room be sublet (§ 553 BGB)? The answers depend heavily on how the lease is constructed.
These guides sort out the contract models, the cost split and subletting, so a flatmate moving out doesn't turn into a dispute.
Guides for tenants
- Kaution in a student WG: who pays in, who gets it back (2026)
Kaution in a student WG in Germany: at most three months' rent for the whole flat, what a parental guarantee changes, how you get your share back.
- Moving out of a shared flat: how long am I liable? (2026)
Leaving a WG in Germany on a joint lease: you stay jointly and severally liable until the landlord releases you (§ 421 BGB). What to sort out before you go.
- Subletting a room in Germany: what subtenants need to know (2026)
Renting a room in a German WG: your contract is with the Hauptmieter, § 551 BGB caps the Kaution, and § 573c Abs. 3 BGB can mean two weeks' notice.
- WG: splitting rent and Nebenkosten fairly (2026)
Splitting WG rent and Nebenkosten: on a joint lease each of you owes the full rent (§ 421 BGB). Between you, your split applies, or else equal shares (§ 426 BGB).
- Taking in a subtenant: asking your landlord's permission (2026)
Taking in a subtenant: for part of your flat you are entitled to your landlord's permission (§ 553 BGB). How to ask, and when the landlord can refuse.
- Flatshare and subletting: who is liable, who may sublet? (2026)
WG subletting: on a joint lease everyone owes the full rent (§ 421 BGB), in the main-tenant model only the main tenant. A room needs permission (§ 553 BGB).
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