How to find an apartment in Germany
Last update: May 2021
Are you looking for a place to live in Germany?
Your options in Germany are:
- Students halls of residence
- Shared flats (Wohngemeinschaft – WG)
- Private apartments
- Temporary accommodations (hostel, B&B, furnished flats,...)
Before signing a rental contract you may be asked to present any of these documents or a combination of some of them to your future landlord:
If you are flat-sharing or sub-renting, you will likely be spared a part of this bureaucratic procedure:
- Last 3 payslips or letter from current employer stating how much you earn;
- Last 3 bank statements*;
- SCHUFA (this is a letter with your credit score) You can apply online for the printout;
- Letter from your current German landlord saying you are up-to-date with your rent;
- A proof of your Privathaftpflichtversicherung (Personal Liability Insurance) that pays in case of damage to the rented property;
- (For dog owners) A proof of a Dog Liability Insurance (Hundehaftpflicht) to cover damages caused by your dog to the rented property;
- Contact information for a guarantor, someone who could pay your rent in case you get into financial difficulties; most often only a German contact will be accepted.
* If you have an N26 bank account, you can easily download PDFs of your monthly balance statements directly from your mobile phone. The N26 bank account is free, in English and comes with a MasterCard. Open your free account here.
Here is some useful vocabulary for your flat-hunting
- Mietwohnung: Rented flat
- Wohngemeinschaft (WG): Shared flat / house; very popular as an affordable alternative to a single rented flat in larger cities with a high number of younger people and students.
- Kaltmiete: Rent without utility bills.
- Warmmiete: Rent inclusive of water and heating bills but without electricity & telephone bills.
- Kaution: Deposit - usually the sum of 3 months’ rent in advance.
- Provision: This is a commission you will have to pay if you enlist the help of an estate agent. The cost may be as high as two months’ rent for renting or buying accommodation.
- Abschlag: The additional items the existing tenant may want to sell to you; such as furniture.
- Untermietvertrag: Sub-letter contract. This is usually required if you are renting a room in someone’s flat in a flatshare situation. The contract would be between you and the main tenant responsible for the flat.
- Zwischenmietvertrag: A temporary rental contract. This is for an agreed, usually a quite short period of time, between you and the person whose room or flat you are temporarily renting whilst they are away.
- Mietvertrag: A standard rental contract between you and the landlord/owner.
- Nachmieter: Is someone who takes over the flat from an existing tenant. If you are looking to take over a flat on a Nachmieter basis then you will be signing a standard Mietvertrag directly with the landlord.
- Renoviert: Indicates, that a property has been renovated or redeveloped. This can be very important, especially if you are looking at renting in an Altbau (old building). Look for Renovierter Altbau to make sure you are getting an adequate flat. It may be slightly more expensive, but new windows, doors and insulation will make a big difference to your heating bill also.
- Saniert: Indicates, that a building has been redeveloped. Again, this can be important particularly in the case of old buildings: Sanierter Altbau.
- Altbauwohnung: Is a flat in an old building. These can be very beautiful and have lots of charm. But remember, look for Renoviert or Saniert.
- Neubauwohnung: This is a flat in a newly built building. This usually guarantees you a warm place with good finishing standards and up-to-date insulation standards.
- Atelier: Studio
- Zweizimmerwohnung/Zweiraumwohnung: Two-room flat
- Dreizimmerwohnung/Dreiraumwohnung: Three-room flat
- Eigentumswohnung: Owner-occupied flat
- Einzelappartement: One-person apartment
- Maisonette: Maisonette
- Maisonettewohnung: Maisonette flat
- Studentenwohnheim: Student halls of residence
- Studentenwohnung: Student flat
- Wohnheim: Halls of residence
- Wohnungsgeberbestätigung/Vermieterbescheinigung/Einzugsbestätigung: It's basically a written confirmation from your landlord which confirms that you have moved into a German residence. This letter is mandatory for registering in Germany!
- Privathaftpflichtversicherung: Private Liability Insurance
- Hundehaftpflicht: Dog Liability Insurance
The top 44 apartment/flat/flatsharing/students accommodation/hostel listing sites for Germany
When this article was written, there were 44 links available. The list is continuously being updated with new useful links. Let us know if some link doesn't work anymore!
For all Germany
Housing Anywhere (For students)
Wohnungs Boerse (Flat search with no brokers, from privates)
Studenten WG (not only for students)
Studenten-Wohnung (not only for students)
atHome (also in English & French)
Just landed (also in English)
EasyWG (also in English)
Accommodation for Students Ltd (also in English, only for students)
Deutsches Studentenwerk (Student Union Website, only for students, also in English)
Short term accommodation for all Germany (also in English)
Jugendherberge.de (Young hostels)
Only in Berlin
WGBerlin.net (also in English, Spanish, French & Italian)
City-wohnen (also in English, Dutch & Spanish)
Studentenwerk-Berlin (also in English, only for students)
On Facebook:
- Flats in Berlin ONLY LONG TERM
- Temporary Flat Rentals In Berlin
- Wohnungen in Berlin / apartment flat rent Berlin
- Wohnung in Berlin
- Wohnungen Berlin und Umgebung
- Short-term accommodation Berlin: WG, Zwischenmiete, flat-share, Zimmerbörse
- Flats in Berlin
- Berlin Housing
- Housing Berlin/ Wohnen in Berlin (2017) - ISiB
- WG-Zimmer & Wohnungen Berlin
- Berlin Apartments - Rent - Share & Sell flats & apartments in Berlin!
- Berlin Startup WGs
- Housing BERLIN
- Cerco/offro appartamento a Berlino (mainly in italian)
- Case in condivisione a Berlino (mainly in italian)
Only in Hamburg
City-wohnen (also in English, Dutch & Spanish)
Studierendenwerk-Hamburg (also in English, only for students)
Only in Stuttgart
Studierendenwerk-Stuttgart (also in English, only for students)
Only in Dortmund
Studentenwerk-Dortmund (also in English, only for students)
Only in Düsseldorf
Studentenwerk-Düsseldorf (only for students)
Only in Köln
Kölner Studentenwerk (also in English, only for students)
Only in Frankfurt am Main
Studentenwerk-Frankfurt (also in English, only for students)
In many cities in Germany
(Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt am Main, Stuttgart & Potsdam)
Medici Living (also in English // Flat share provider with online booking // Commission-based)
Important:
You are required by law to register your address (Anmeldung) within 2 weeks of relocating to your new German address. If you don't do it, you could get a fine! Fill in your Anmeldung form in your preferred language here (for FREE).
Find an Anmeldung Guide here.
Find an Anmeldung Checklist here.
Also, be aware that you are not allowed to live & work in Germany without having a proper German health insurance policy. The international health insurance you used to enter Germany isn't valid anymore in most cases. We advise you to get a free quote from an independent insurance broker if you don't want to get in trouble. We can recommend this popular insurance provider who can help you find the option that best fits your budget and meets your needs.
Also, be aware that you are not allowed to live & work in Germany without having a proper German health insurance policy. The international health insurance you used to enter Germany isn't valid anymore in most cases. We advise you to get a free quote from an independent insurance broker if you don't want to get in trouble. We can recommend this popular insurance provider who can help you find the option that best fits your budget and meets your needs.
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