Finding tenants in Germany: a practical guide for first-time landlords

Finding tenants in Germany as a landlord is a sequence, and the order matters. Prepare the apartment and its documents, set a rent the law allows, advertise with the required energy-certificate details, and ask applicants only for what each stage justifies. Then choose without discriminating, sign a written lease, take a deposit within the legal cap and record the condition at move-in. Careful selection lowers the risk of unpaid rent. It does not remove it.

This guide is for owners who rent out an apartment in Germany for the first time, in Berlin, Dresden or Leipzig.

Finish visible repairs and gather what the letting needs:

• Energy certificate (Energieausweis). You need a valid one before you let (§ 80(3) GModG). The Building Energy Act (GEG) became the Building Modernisation Act (GModG) in July 2026 (BBSR GModG portal).
• House rules and the owners' association's rules, to attach to the lease.
• An operating-cost estimate (Betriebskosten). The tenant bears these only if the lease says so, and advances must be set at an appropriate level (§ 556(1) and (2) BGB).

Plan in weeks, not days, with a reserve for empty months; see tenanted or vacant apartments. If you are still buying, Alpha Minoris's Buyer's Agent service collects the property documents during the purchase, so the certificate and association papers are on file when you receive the keys. See also the handover checklist.

The rent brake (Mietpreisbremse) generally caps the starting rent of a new tenancy at 10 per cent above the local comparative rent (§ 556d BGB). It applies across Berlin until 31 December 2029 (Berlin Senate) and in Dresden and Leipzig until 30 June 2027 (Saxon State Government).

Exceptions cover a higher previous rent, recent modernisation and apartments first used and let after 1 October 2014 (§ 556e and § 556f BGB). If you rely on one, tell the applicant in text form before they sign, or you generally cannot rely on it (§ 556g(1a) and (4) BGB). A pending federal bill (Mietrecht II) would change the rules for furnished, short-term and index-linked lettings (Federal Ministry of Justice). For the figure itself, see how much rent you can charge.

The advert. An advert in commercial media, such as a property portal, must repeat key details from the energy certificate: its type, the energy demand or consumption figure, the main heating energy source and, for a residential building, the year of construction and efficiency class (§ 87(1) GModG). Describe the apartment, not the tenant you imagine. The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency warns that "German speakers only" can amount to discrimination because of ethnic origin (Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes).

The viewing. Show the certificate, or display a copy clearly, at the viewing at the latest (§ 80(4) and (5) GModG). At this stage, a name and contact details are enough. You may check them against an ID document shown to you, but the data-protection authorities regard copying it as not permitted (DSK guidance, version 2.0, January 2026). Tell applicants what you collect and why (Art. 13 GDPR).

Germany's data-protection authorities (the Datenschutzkonferenz, DSK) allow more questions as the process advances; their model applicant form (Mieterselbstauskunft) follows the same stages (DSK model questionnaire). The principle is data minimisation: collect only what the decision needs (Art. 5(1)(c) GDPR).

When an applicant says they want the apartment, you may generally ask about the number of adults and children moving in, employer and occupation, net income (or whether it exceeds a stated amount), open insolvency proceedings, eviction orders over rent arrears in the past five years, and pets that would need your consent (DSK).

Once you have chosen an applicant, you may request tenant selection documents: income evidence with unnecessary details blacked out, and a credit report made for tenancy purposes, which the applicant obtains from a credit agency such as SCHUFA. The full copy of their credit data under Art. 15 GDPR shows far more than you need, so do not ask for it (DSK).

At no stage ask about nationality, origin, religion, marital status, pregnancy or family plans, criminal records, party or tenants' association membership, or length of employment. Do not ask for previous landlords' contact details, and you cannot require a confirmation that no rent is owed (Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung) (DSK, citing BGH VIII ZR 238/08).

Afterwards, delete unsuccessful applicants' data once you no longer need it; where a discrimination claim is possible, within six months at the latest. Blacklists of applicants are generally not allowed (DSK).

Alpha Minoris's Vermieter-Autopilot service can run these stages for apartments in Berlin, Dresden and Leipzig, within the mandate you agree: the advert, viewings, reviewing applications within the limits above, preparing the lease and recording the handover. It then continues with ongoing landlord tasks such as coordinating repairs. You approve the tenant and the lease terms, the rent must follow the rules above, and you remain the landlord. No manager can guarantee that a tenant will pay.

Under the General Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz, AGG), discrimination because of race or ethnic origin is prohibited however few apartments you let (§ 19(2) with § 2(1) no. 8 AGG). The other grounds in § 19(1), which are sex, religion, disability, age and sexual identity, cover lettings that count as mass business (§ 1 and § 19(1) AGG). A landlord letting no more than 50 apartments in total is generally presumed not to be in that position (§ 19(5) AGG). Two further exceptions, for a special relationship of closeness or trust, such as you or your family living on the same plot, and for maintaining socially stable resident structures, are contested in scope (§ 19(3) and (5) AGG). Do not rely on either without legal advice.

A government bill, due for a committee hearing on 5 October 2026, would extend protection against sex discrimination in housing regardless of the 50-apartment rule, and give applicants four months instead of two to claim (Bundestag printed paper 21/6178; § 21(5) AGG).

Whatever the threshold, the data-protection limits above apply to every landlord. If a rejected applicant shows facts suggesting discrimination, you must prove there was none (§ 22 AGG). Set your criteria before the viewings, apply them to everyone, and note briefly why you chose the applicant you did.

Screening does not make a tenancy safe: a reliable tenant can still lose a job. Plan a reserve as described in what to do if a tenant stops paying.

Use a written lease signed by both parties. Several rules depend on writing:

• A lease for more than one year that is not in written form counts as open-ended (§ 550 BGB).
• A fixed term needs a statutory reason, such as later use by you or your family, stated in writing at signing. Otherwise the tenancy is open-ended (§ 575(1) BGB).
• Stepped and index-linked rents must be agreed in writing (§ 557a(1) and § 557b(1) BGB).

After signing, hand over the energy certificate or a copy without delay (§ 80(4) and (5) GModG).

The deposit (Mietkaution) may not exceed three months' rent excluding operating costs. The tenant may pay it in three equal monthly instalments, the first at the start of the tenancy. Keep it with a bank, separate from your own assets, at the usual interest rate for savings with three months' notice, unless you agree another investment; the returns belong to the tenant. Terms that depart from these rules to the tenant's disadvantage are void (§ 551 BGB).

Illustrative example. Inputs: cold rent €900 a month plus a €210 operating-cost advance. Maximum deposit: 3 × €900 = €2,700, payable in three instalments of €900. The advance does not count.

At handover, walk through the apartment with the tenant and record each room's condition with dated photos, the meter readings, the keys handed over and any defects you agree to fix. Both sign the record (Übergabeprotokoll), your reference when the tenancy ends.

The tenant must register within two weeks of moving in (§ 17(1) BMG). Within the same period, you or a person you authorise must confirm the move-in, in writing or electronically to the registration office. This is the landlord's confirmation, or Wohnungsgeberbestätigung (§ 19 BMG; Berlin service portal).

Before you advertise, put your rent evidence, your selection criteria and your documents side by side, and decide which stages you will run yourself. Discuss your first rental property with Alpha Minoris.