Request for the landlord's permission to sublet (Germany)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
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.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Tenant
- Tenant's address
- Landlord
- Landlord's postal address (street, then postcode and town on the next line)
- City
- Date
- Address of the property
- Date of the contract
- Flat, or the part of it, to be sublet
- Period from
- End of the sublet (if for a fixed period)
- Subtenant
- Subtenant's date of birth
- Subtenant's current address
- Subtenant's occupation
- Why you want to sublet: what has changed since the lease was signed
- What you will sublet: part of the flat (you keep using the rest) or the whole flat for a time
- Short lets to changing guests (e.g. through a platform): not planned, or permission asked for too
- Deadline for a response
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Does a tenant in Germany need the landlord's permission to sublet?
- Yes. Without permission the tenant may not let anyone else use the flat, not even part of it (§ 540(1) BGB). Subletting without it can lead to a formal warning and, in some cases, termination (§ 543(2), first sentence, no. 2 BGB). The law sets no form for the request, but sending it as a letter and asking for an answer in text form leaves a record of both the request and the permission.
- When does a tenant in Germany have a right to permission to sublet?
- When part of the flat is to be let and the legitimate interest in doing so arose only after the lease was signed — a separation, a change of job, financial hardship (§ 553(1) BGB). According to the Federal Court of Justice, it is already “part” if the tenant keeps one room (VIII ZR 349/13). The landlord may refuse for an important reason concerning the subtenant, if the flat would be overcrowded, or if it is otherwise unreasonable; if it is reasonable only with a fair rent increase, permission can be made conditional on one (§ 553(2) BGB).
- What can a tenant in Germany do if the landlord refuses to allow a sublet?
- Where there is a right to permission under § 553 BGB, the tenant can sue for it. In any case, if the landlord refuses without an important reason concerning the subtenant, the tenant may end the tenancy by extraordinary notice with the statutory notice period (§ 540(1), second sentence, BGB). That notice itself must be in written form (§ 568(1) BGB): signed by hand, or with a qualified electronic signature — never a plain e-mail.
- Does permission to sublet in Germany also cover holiday guests through online platforms?
- No. A general permission to sublet does not cover letting the flat to tourists by the day (BGH VIII ZR 210/13 of 8 January 2014); that needs express permission, which the letter can ask for separately. On top of that, many cities have rules against homes being used for other purposes: depending on the state (Land) and the municipality, a permit and a registration number shown in every listing may be required — in Berlin, for example.
- Who gives a subtenant in Germany the confirmation needed to register?
- The main tenant, because the housing provider is whoever actually lets the person use the flat (§ 19 BMG). The subtenant must register within two weeks of moving in (§ 17(1) BMG) and needs this confirmation to do so. As the main tenant does not own the flat, the confirmation also gives the owner's name.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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