Germany

housing.qxd 15/12/2005 21:26 Page 30
HOUSING
30
Renting a Home
continued from page 29
apartments. One of the best ways to find
an apartment is to place an advertisement
yourself in one of the main newspapers,
setting out what you are after.
Many Germans do this.
Some landlords prefer to find tenants
this way because it means they can avoid
dealing with a deluge of inquiries; they
can choose who they want to speak to in
advance.
Non-Germans can (emphasis is on ‘can’)
be attractive to landlords, as they likely
won’t be around forever and the property
can be put back on the market soon at a
higher rent.
If you’re not planning to choose a
Wohngemeinschaft, be aware that some
landlords or agents will ask for your
Polizeiliche Anmeldung (police registration).
Once you have expressed an interest in a
place, you will normally be asked to fill
in a questionnaire (or Fragebogen) giving
information about yourself
(Selbstauskunft).
The questions cover things like income,
marital status and number of children,
but they can be quite intrusive, asking
things like whether you are pregnant,
have a criminal record or even — believe
it or not — belong to a political party.
WHAT YOU’LL GET
Rents are either Kaltmiete (cold rent),
meaning net rent, or Warmmiete (warm
rent), which includes utilities such as
heating and sometimes cable TV.
There’s more furnished accommodation
around than there used to be, but most
places contain nothing — no light fittings,
curtains, refrigerators or, in
extreme cases, floor coverings or kitchen!
This is because Germans tend to rent and
stay in apartments for a long time.
THE LEASE
It could be a good idea to have a lawyer
or German-speaking friend take you
through the lease before you sign it.
German leases are not universal and can
include all sorts of surprises.
In particular, watch out for the dreaded
Staffelmiete clause, which means that rent
automatically increases each year by a
certain percentage.
This can be quite steep, so what seems
like a bargain could turn expensive after
a few years.
All sorts of other things can be tucked
away in a lease, such as a requirement that
you put a metal trap in the sink to catch
food, or disconnect the water supply to
balcony taps in winter.
If you don’t and the pipe bursts, you could
owe damages.
Leases can also require you to do things
when you leave, like taking down the
funky wallpaper and painting over the
murals to return the place to how it was
when you moved in.
The duties can depend on just how long
it is that you’ve had the flat.
The lease will also set out how much
notice you have to give before moving
out, which also depends on how long
you have lived there.
For detailed information on managing your finances
as an expat, visit www.expatica.com/germany
GERMANY EXPAT SURVIVAL GUIDE WWW.EXPATICA.COM