Rental contracts, notices and tenancy letters in Germany
A German residential lease for more than a year must be in written form, or it is treated as open-ended (§ 550 of the Civil Code, BGB). The usual contract is the open-ended lease; a guaranteed minimum term comes from a mutual waiver of notice of at most four years. A fixed-term lease (Zeitmietvertrag) is allowed only if the landlord means afterwards to live there or house family there, to demolish or substantially rebuild the flat, or to let it as staff housing, and states that reason in writing at signing (§ 575 BGB); without it the lease is open-ended. Subletting a room in a shared flat takes a room sublease and the landlord's permission (§ 540 BGB). A furnished room in the landlord's own flat has limited tenant protection: notice is given by the 15th to the end of that month.
Notice ending a tenancy, by either side, needs the written form (§ 568 BGB): signed by hand by every tenant or landlord, or with a qualified electronic signature; email, fax and a scan are not enough. The tenant's notice needs no reason; if it arrives by the third working day of a month, the tenancy ends at the end of the month after next. A landlord may give ordinary notice only for a legitimate interest stated in the letter, such as own use, or end the tenancy for rent arrears. A tenant may object on hardship grounds, since 2025 in text form, an email included, at least two months before the end (§ 574b BGB). A notice takes effect when it arrives (§ 130 BGB); the tracking of an Einwurf-Einschreiben does not prove that; hand delivery before a witness is the safest proof.
A rent increase request needs only text form: the landlord asks for consent to a higher rent, at most up to the local comparative rent, with reasons such as the rent index (Mietspiegel). A defect reduces the rent by law, but a tenant who does not report it promptly loses the reduction where the landlord could have fixed it; hence the defect notice. Objections to a service-charge statement must be raised within twelve months of receipt. The move-in and move-out records fix the flat's condition; the landlord's damage claims become time-barred six months after he gets it back (§ 548 BGB). No statute sets a date for returning the deposit, so the deposit demand sets one. The tenant must register within two weeks, using the landlord's confirmation. The documents are in German; each page describes its document in English.
The documents
16 forms available to fill out or download.
Landlord's confirmation of moving in or out (Germany)
The written confirmation a person moving in needs to register their address in Germany. Under § 19 of the Federal Registration Act (BMG), the housing provider (Wohnungsgeber) — the landlord, a main tenant who sublets, or the property manager acting for them — must give it within the two weeks allowed for registering. It contains what the Act requires: the provider's name and address, the owner's name if someone else owns the flat, moving in or out with the date, the flat's address and the names of everyone registering. In German, ready to print, sign and hand over.
Letter demanding the return of a rental deposit (Germany)
The letter a tenant in Germany sends after moving out to get the deposit back. It states the end of the tenancy, the handover and the deposit, demands repayment with interest under § 551(3) of the German Civil Code (BGB) — or release of the pledged deposit account or the guarantee — by a deadline, asks for an itemised settlement with receipts, and limits any retention to a fair part for the outstanding service-charge bill. German law sets no fixed repayment date, so the letter promises none. In German, to print, sign and send.
Open-ended residential lease, with optional notice waiver (Germany)
The usual German lease of a flat for an indefinite term, and the right choice for anyone who wants a fixed minimum term: the optional mutual waiver of ordinary notice binds both sides for up to four years, as far as the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) allows, without the reason a fixed-term lease under § 575 of the German Civil Code (BGB) would need. Otherwise the tenant gives three months' notice and the landlord needs a statutory reason. With the deposit rules of § 551 BGB, service charges under the BetrKV, stepped or index-linked rent, the rent-cap disclosure and decoration clauses that stand up in court. In German, to print and sign.
Request for the landlord's permission to sublet (Germany)
The letter a tenant in Germany sends to ask the landlord's permission to sublet a room or the whole flat — without it the tenant may not let anyone else use the flat (§ 540 of the German Civil Code, BGB). It names the rooms, the period and the subtenant with date of birth and address, explains the interest that arose after the lease was signed, relies for part of the flat on the claim to permission under § 553 BGB, and points to the special right to give notice if permission is refused. Letting to holiday guests is a separate choice, because ordinary permission does not cover it. In German, to print, sign and send.
Sublease of a room in a shared flat (Germany)
The agreement by which the main tenant of a flat in Germany sublets a room in the shared flat (WG): the room and shared use of kitchen and bathroom, rent with a flat-rate charge for utilities, the deposit under § 551 of the German Civil Code (BGB), house rules and notice. It records the landlord's permission to sublet (§ 540 BGB) and sets the notice period by whether the room is furnished and the main tenant lives in the flat — then notice by the 15th takes effect at the end of that month. Open-ended or with an end date, for a semester for instance. In German, to print and sign.
Move-out handover record for a rented flat (Germany)
The record a landlord and tenant in Germany sign when the tenant hands back a rented flat: meter readings for the final bill, every key returned, the condition of each room, the damage the landlord points out beside the tenant's comments on it, anything agreed, and the tenant's new address and account for the deposit. The handover date matters: under § 548 of the German Civil Code (BGB), the landlord's claims for changes to or deterioration of the flat lapse six months after it is returned. In German, to print, fill in together and sign by both sides.
Defect notice with rent reduction (Germany)
The letter a tenant in Germany uses to report a defect in the rented flat — mould, a heating failure, water damage, broken windows — and to claim a rent reduction. Reporting is a duty: without it the reduction is lost to the extent the landlord could have fixed the defect (§ 536c of the German Civil Code, BGB). The letter describes the defect, sets a deadline for repair, bases the reduction on the gross rent, lets the tenant choose between paying in full under reservation (the safer route) and paying less at once, and announces set-off under § 556b(2) BGB. In German, to print, sign and send.
Move-in handover record with inventory and key list (Germany)
The record a landlord and tenant in Germany sign when a rented flat is handed over at move-in: meter readings for electricity, gas, water and heating, every key handed over, the condition of each room and an inventory of what is let with the flat. Defects already there are accepted only with the tenant's rights reserved — under § 536b of the German Civil Code (BGB), a tenant who takes over a flat knowing of a defect otherwise loses rent reduction and damages for it. In German, to print, fill in together and sign by both sides.
Objection to a service-charge statement with a request to inspect receipts (Germany)
The letter a tenant in Germany sends when the service-charge statement (Betriebskostenabrechnung) is wrong or cannot be followed. It raises objections to the individual items within the twelve-month period of § 556(3) of the German Civil Code (BGB), asks to inspect invoices, contracts and consumption figures — since 2025 the landlord may also provide the receipts electronically (§ 556(4) BGB) — asks for a corrected statement, and holds back only the disputed part of any back-payment. No form is prescribed. In German, to print, sign and send.
Tenant's objection to a landlord's notice on hardship grounds (Germany)
The letter a tenant in Germany uses to object to a landlord's ordinary notice — for own use, for example — and to demand that the tenancy continue, because moving out would be an unjustifiable hardship for the tenant or the household (§ 574 of the German Civil Code, BGB): old age, illness, pregnancy, children at school or no affordable replacement housing. Since 1 January 2025 text form is enough (§ 574b BGB); the objection must reach the landlord no later than two months before the tenancy ends. The letter gives the reasons and does not accept the notice. In German.
Landlord's notice ending a tenancy for own use (Germany)
A landlord's ordinary notice in Germany ending a tenancy because the landlord, a family member or a member of the household needs the flat (§ 573(2) no. 2 of the German Civil Code, BGB). As § 573(3) BGB requires, the letter names the person who is to move in, their relationship to the landlord, where they live now and why they need the flat; it states the notice period by length of tenancy (three, six or nine months), objects to a tacit extension and tells the tenant about the right to object in text form (§ 574b BGB). Written form: print and sign by hand by every landlord. In German.
Landlord's request for consent to a rent increase (Germany)
The letter a landlord in Germany uses to ask the tenant to consent to a rent increase up to the local comparative rent under § 558 of the German Civil Code (BGB) — the landlord cannot raise the rent unilaterally. It states the old and new net rent, justifies the increase with the local rent index, a rent database, an expert opinion or three comparable flats (§ 558a BGB), gives the figures of a qualified rent index, respects the 20 or 15 per cent cap and the 15-month wait, and sets the deadline for consent; a consent form for the tenant to sign is attached. Text form is enough. In German.
Landlord's termination for rent arrears, with ordinary notice in the alternative (Germany)
A landlord's notice in Germany when the tenant is behind with the rent: without notice under § 543(2) of the German Civil Code (BGB) and, at the same time, ordinary notice in the alternative under § 573(2) no. 1 BGB — because if the tenant pays up, only the termination without notice falls away (BGH VIII ZR 106/23). The letter states the ground and every unpaid month, sets a date to hand the flat back, objects to a tacit extension and tells the tenant about the objection in text form. In German, to print and sign by hand by every landlord.
Tenant's notice ending a residential lease (Germany)
The letter a tenant in Germany uses to end a residential lease. Under § 573c of the German Civil Code (BGB) the tenant's notice period is three months: notice that arrives by the third working day of a month ends the tenancy at the end of the month after next. The letter gives notice to the chosen date, or else to the next possible one, and can invoke the special rights after a rent increase (§ 561 BGB) or a refused sublet (§ 540 BGB). Written form is required (§ 568 BGB): print it and have every tenant sign by hand — by e-mail it is void. In German.
Fixed-term residential lease under § 575 BGB (Germany)
A fixed-term lease of a flat in Germany (Zeitmietvertrag), for the one case German law allows it: the landlord means to live there or house family there afterwards, to demolish or substantially rebuild the flat, or to let it as staff housing, and states that reason concretely in writing at signing, as § 575 of the German Civil Code (BGB) requires. Without such a reason any fixed term counts as open-ended — for a guaranteed minimum term, take the open-ended lease with a notice waiver. With the deposit rules of § 551 BGB, stepped or index-linked rent, the rent-cap disclosure and lawful decoration clauses. In German, to print and sign by hand.
Lease of a furnished room in the landlord's own flat (Germany)
A lease of a furnished room in a flat in Germany that the landlord lives in — whether as owner or as a tenant with permission to sublet — with shared use of kitchen and bathroom. Under § 549(2) no. 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB) such a room has only limited tenant protection: no rent cap, no rent-increase rules, and notice by either side by the 15th to the end of the month, without a reason. With an inventory of the furniture, a flat-rate charge for utilities, the deposit under § 551 BGB, house rules and an optional end date. In German, to print and sign.