Move-in handover record with inventory and key list (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 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.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Landlord
- Tenant
- Address of the property
- Where the flat is in the building (e.g. 2nd floor left, flat 7)
- Date of the contract
- Handover date
- Time of handover
- Witnesses (names and phone numbers)
- Electricity meter reading
- Gas meter reading
- Cold water meter reading
- Hot water meter reading
- Heating meter reading
- Keys to the building and flat door (number)
- Mailbox keys (number)
- Keys to the cellar, loft or bike room (number)
- Other keys, chips or cards (kind and number)
- Condition: hall, entrance, storeroom
- Condition: living room
- Condition: bedroom
- Condition: other rooms
- Condition: kitchen
- Condition: bathroom and WC
- Condition: balcony, cellar, loft
- Defects noted
- What the landlord will still fix, and by when
- Inventory of furnishings
- Documents handed over (e.g. energy certificate, house rules, manuals)
- Number of photos attached
- Other notes
- City
- Date
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Is a move-in handover record required by law in Germany?
- No German statute requires one, but it is the best evidence of the flat's condition when the tenancy began. If the landlord claims for damage when the tenant leaves, it is for the landlord to prove that the flat was in order at the handover. Both sides sign the record, each keeps a copy, and dated photos are attached to it.
- What happens to defects already visible when moving into a flat in Germany?
- A tenant who accepts the flat knowing of a defect can reduce the rent or claim damages for it only if they reserve their rights on accepting it (§ 536b, third sentence, BGB). That is why the record lists every known defect and states the reservation expressly. Whatever the landlord promises to fix is written in with a date.
- Which meter readings belong in a move-in record in Germany?
- Electricity, gas, cold and hot water, and the heat meters or heat-cost allocators, each with its meter number and reading. Heating and hot water are billed by consumption under the German Heating Costs Ordinance (HeizkostenV), so the readings on the handover day separate the new tenant's use from the previous one's. Photograph every meter; the electricity and gas readings are also what you give the supplier when you sign up.
- What other confirmation does a tenant in Germany need from the landlord after moving in?
- The landlord's confirmation of moving in, the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung (§ 19 BMG). The tenant needs it to register with the registration office within two weeks of moving in (§ 17(1) BMG), and the landlord must issue it within that time or risk a fine of up to €1,000. It is a separate document and does not belong in the handover record.
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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