🇩🇪 Germany · Housing
Renting and buying property in Germany — typical rents, deposits, contracts, and official tenancy rules.
German tenancy is strongly tenant-protected under the BGB (Mietrecht). Rent control (Mietpreisbremse) applies in tight markets, and a local reference-rent table (Mietspiegel) benchmarks rents. The deposit is capped at three months' net cold rent. There is no nationality restriction on renting or buying property.
- The deposit (Kaution) is capped at three months' net cold rent (Kaltmiete).
- Rent is quoted as cold rent (Kaltmiete) plus Nebenkosten (running costs); the Mietspiegel benchmarks local rents.
- A Schufa credit report and proof of income are commonly required; foreigners can buy property freely.
Official authorities
- BMWSB — Bundesministerium für Wohnen
Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building.
- Gesetze im Internet — BGB (Mietrecht)
Official text of the Civil Code tenancy law.
Official-information aggregation, not legal advice. Always verify on the authority's own site.
Typical rents by city
Tools & platforms
- ImmobilienScout24
Germany's largest property portal.
- Immowelt
Rentals and homes for sale.
Government portals
- Federal Government of Germany — Germany's Federal Cabinet official website — policy, legislation, news, and government programs
- Federal Office for Migration (BAMF) — German visas, EU Blue Card, asylum, integration courses, and permanent residency
- Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) — Tax ID (IdNr) registration, tax identification lookup, withholding tax refunds — the key authority for foreign taxpayers in Germany