How to Find an Apartment for Rent in Germany?

Moovick

27 March 2021 • 5 min read

1. Know Your Requirements: Figuring out your needs is the first thing that you must do, and you can start by asking these questions to yourself or discuss them with your family:

What should be the size of the apartment? How many rooms do you need?
Are there any preferred localities? Should it have easy access from your office/school/supermarket?
What should be the maximum rent?
How long are you planning to stay? How soon are you willing to shift?
Are you looking for a furnished or an unfurnished apartment?
Will you need car parking? Do you own pets?
Any other requirements?

Understanding these requirements will help you apply and visit only those apartments in which you are genuinely interested. It will save you time, and you won’t get disappointed.

2. Learn Relevant Terminology in German: Get yourself accustomed to the terms related to housing World in German. Basic rent is called ‘Kaltmiete’ (cold rent), rent along with utility bills is ‘Warmmiete’ (warm rent), ‘Nebenkosten’ or ‘Umlagen’ is additional costs, ‘befristet’ is a limited contract or ‘unbefristet’ an unlimited contract.

Your full monthly payment will be the ‘Warmmiete’ for the house that includes property tax, water, heating, maintenance of shared facilities in the building, and so on. ‘Kaltmiete’ remains stable while ‘Warmmiete’ may change based on your usage and other factors.

To find an apartment for rent in Germany, especially for expat can be a challenging task. It can take from a few days to several months to find the right apartment for you. We have curated a guide that would help you with everything from documentation to migrating to a new home.

3. Documentation: If you are ready to search for your house, you must have all the necessary documents ready. Most home-owners will ask for:

Last three payslips
Previous address registration
A credit rating report (Schufa-Auskunft)
Previous landlord’s statement (Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung).

4. Finding Home: You can find an apartment for rent in Germany through an estate agent, from online portals like Immobilien Scout 24, Immobilo, Wunder Flats, Immowelt, WG-Suche, Zeitwohnwerk, Wohnungsbörse, Deutsche-Wohnen, etc. or word of mouth. To save yourself from any scam, always remember to make a deposit only after you have personally visited it. You can sign the contract with the landlord once you finalize it.

5. Moving to the New Rental Apartment: Once you have done the above process, you will have to move from your old apartment to the new one. Finding help for shifting in Germany can be another huge task. Crowd shipping and Peer To Peer Delivery Services are the latest trends these days. It is an amazing alternative to traditional logistic companies that are very slow and over-priced. P2P delivery allows you to take help from people who can take your stuff along with them.

Moovick is one such platform where you can also find someone with a delivery van to help you transfer your furniture faster than other firms that take at least 14 days. Also, they are completely flexible with their pricing plan, and you can discuss details of the task and set your price. With Moovickl, the process is easy and quick and your movement to a new apartment becomes much more comfortable.

Finding an apartment for rent in Germany is not easy but following these steps will definitely make the process easier and smoother. We hope you find the perfect house for yourself soon. Good luck!

How to Find an Apartment for Rent in Germany?

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