Fixed-term residential lease under § 575 BGB (Germany)
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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.
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.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Landlord
- Landlord's address
- Tenant
- Tenant's date of birth
- Tenant's address
- Second tenant (if any)
- Second tenant's date of birth
- Address of the property
- Where the flat is in the building (e.g. 2nd floor left, flat 7)
- Rooms
- Area
- Let with the flat (cellar, parking space, fitted kitchen)
- Keys
- Term from
- Term to
- Reason for the fixed term (own use, demolition or major works, or staff housing)
- The reason for the fixed term, described concretely (who will move in and why, or which works)
- Monthly net rent, excluding service charges
- Monthly advance on service charges
- IBAN
- How the rent changes (statutory rules, stepped rent or index-linked rent)
- Rent steps: date and new net rent in euros (stepped rent only)
- Rent cap at the start of the tenancy (Mietpreisbremse): not in force, kept, or an exception
- Exception from the rent cap and its details (such as the previous tenant's rent)
- Deposit
- Landlord's separate deposit account (IBAN)
- Decorating (painting, wallpaper): stays with the landlord, or the tenant's if the flat is handed over renovated
- Energy performance certificate: type, date issued and energy rating
- Other terms
- 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
- When may a residential lease in Germany be made for a fixed term?
- Only if the landlord means, once the term ends, to use the flat for themselves, their family or household, to demolish or substantially alter or repair it lawfully, or to let it to someone obliged to provide services — and tells the tenant that reason in writing at signing (§ 575(1) BGB). Keywords are not enough; the reason must be described concretely. Otherwise the lease counts as open-ended. For a guaranteed minimum term, use an open-ended lease with a notice waiver.
- What happens if the reason for a German fixed-term lease is delayed or falls away?
- From four months before the end, the tenant may ask the landlord to say within one month whether the reason still exists; if the answer comes later, the tenant can ask for the lease to be extended by the delay. If the reason arises only later, the tenant can ask for a matching extension; if it falls away, for an extension without end. The landlord must prove that the reason arose and how long any delay was (§ 575(2) and (3) BGB).
- Can a tenant leave a German fixed-term lease early?
- Not by ordinary notice: during the term, ordinary notice is excluded for both sides. Extraordinary rights remain — after a rent-increase demand (§ 561 BGB), when the landlord refuses permission to sublet without an important reason concerning the subtenant (§ 540(1), second sentence, BGB), or for a compelling reason (§ 543 BGB). The statute gives no right to be released early by offering a replacement tenant; the courts grant one only exceptionally, where the tenant's legitimate interest clearly outweighs the landlord's. The parties can always end the lease by agreement.
- Must a German fixed-term lease be signed by hand?
- Yes, it needs written form. A lease for more than a year not made in writing counts as open-ended (§ 550 BGB), and the landlord must give the reason for the fixed term in writing (§ 575(1) BGB). So both parties sign the same printed document by hand — or both sign an identical electronic document with a qualified electronic signature (§ 126a BGB). A scan, a photo or an e-mail is not enough.
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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