Roughly 8 million Germans move house every year. So what's it like? DW's Cristina Burack shares some quirks of finding a new place to live in Germany, and learns that Germans are not afraid to be hands-on in the process.
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The quirks of moving in Germany
Around 8 million Germans move into a new house or apartment every year, with most of them renting rather than owning. The moving process can be full of surprises. We break some down, from red tape to bread and salt!
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Germany: Country of renters
When it comes to the housing market in Germany, renting is still the most popular way to go. According to surveys from Germany's Federal Statistical Office, in 2018 some 42% of Germans owned the home they lived in whereas some 58% rented. This is the lowest rate of home ownership in the EU. The highest is Romania, where 96% percent own their homes.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/A. Warnecke
Why the love of renting?
After WWII, a mass housing shortfall and lack of private capital spurred the construction of rental social housing in West Germany, while in communist East Germany ownership was, of course, taboo. This historic trend towards renting mixes with rental protection that remains strong today. Germans wanting to buy face stringent conditions to get a mortgage — and they're skeptical of credit, anyway.
Image: picture-alliance /K. Ohlenschläger
Check your 'rental mirror'!
If you rent, make sure you don't overpay. But how? Just check your "Mietspiegel," or "rental mirror." Calculated by local authorities, it shows the average rental price per square meter in an area and reflects fluctuations, such as when demand or luxury construction ups rents. At the end of 2018, the average was highest in Munich: €17.56 per square meter. It's also the most expensive place to buy.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Hellsten
What type of place?
If you are planning a move, you need to know what type of place you're looking for. Do you want a detached family house or a split townhouse? Your own flat or shared flat, known as a "Wohngemeinschaft" or "WG"? How many rooms? Whatever you do, allow a few months for the search. And remember: A first-floor apartment is not on the ground floor, so you'll have to lug your stuff up the stairs.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Marks
Talent show or flat viewing?
If renting, prep for a multiround process that's sort of like a talent contest. You'll need to sell yourself as the ideal tenant! You'll be asked for personal info, credit scores and about all your living habits. Questions on nationality and family plans are technically not allowed. Unlike elsewhere, you can't put down a deposit that takes the property off the market for others, so woo away!
Image: Colourbox/A. Dean
Do you take your rent warm or cold?
A rental price can either be "warm" or "cold." And no, this doesn't have to do with how attractive it is. Cold rent ("Kaltmiete") is the price you pay for the space, while warm rent ("Warmmiete") usually includes heating, electricity and water. Whether the renter pays these costs directly or reimburses the owner depends on the arrangement. Building admin costs also get added on to all this.
Image: Imago/Panthermedia/jirkaejc
Deposit required
When you rent, you are required to pay a security deposit that can equal no more than three months of "cold" rent. You get it back when your rental period ends, minus any damages or outstanding utility costs. But don't expect a quick return — landlords have the right to hold a deposit or part of it for up to 6 months, which means you could have to pay the next one before getting your old one back.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa Themendienst/C. Klose
BYOK: Bring your own kitchen
What do you mean there's no kitchen? While this might shock some newbies to the German housing market, it's typical for German homes to be totally unfurnished, lacking even stoves and fridges. In some cases, you can buy the existing kitchen off the outgoing tenant. Otherwise be prepared to install your own. Happily, your neighbors might be able to help: Many Germans do their own home renovations!
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Remmers
Moving truck papers needed
Moving day has arrived! But do you have your permit reserving street space for the moving truck? This must be arranged ahead of time with local authorities. Self-made signs saying "Please don't park" won't cut it — though you'll see them, anyway. Also, don't forget to register your new address with local government once you've moved, so you can get an updated proof of residency documents.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Remmers
It's party time!
Flat found? Check! Moved? Checked! Kitchen installed? Check! Time to party! Many Germans throw a housewarming party after a successful move. It's a way to say thanks to those who helped you move, meet the neighbors and show off the new digs. Guests often give the newly moved hosts bread and salt; the traditional food staples are a wish for good luck in a new home.
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When apartment hunting in Germany, the phrase, "Everything but the kitchen sink" takes on a whole new meaning — a literal one.
Apartments can come without kitchens. No stove, oven, no fridge — and no sink. For many first-time apartment hunters in Germany, this comes as shock. It certainly did for me..
It was one of the things that became a deal-breaker in my hunt to rent an unfurnished apartment. I was willing to "rent" the kitchen from the landlord — that is, pay a little more every month to use the equipment already in there. I was willing to "buy" the kitchen off the previous tenant — a move in their interest too, since they wouldn't have to rip out their cupboards and cabinets when they left. I just didn't want to have to measure, select my fittings, order them, wait for delivery, install them and then deal with the unavoidable outcome that something wouldn't fit right — and all just to be able to make a hot meal weeks after moving in!
Oh, and you may have to live in the dark at first, too, since unfurnished flats often lack light fixtures and bulbs.
DYI moving
But when it comes to moving, I learned, Germans are prepared to be hands-on: According to Deutsche Post, 54% of Germans who move do some kind of renovation or fixing up of their new place. This readiness to change the space was evident during group viewings, when I felt exposed as the newbie: Everyone but me seemed to come equipped with a long, foldable meterstick. They used it to measure whether the oven they planned to bring would fit or how much clearance a lofted bed would provide.
Germans aren't afraid to get hands-on in their new places, tackling everything from painting to building cupboardsImage: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Klose
Other potential tenants would also ask about the size of the flat in meters squared and then nod appreciatively at the number immediately offered up, perhaps saying, "Really feels bigger than 45 square meters." I had no instinctive feel for this type of space measurement, but after seeing numerous apartments, I began to get a rough idea of how big a place would be when it was listed in an ad.
Learning how room descriptions worked was a lot faster to pick up. Whereas a listing for "2 Zimmer," or "two rooms," usually means a two-bedroom apartment in the US, walking into a German flat with that description and finding two rooms, as in one to serve as a bedroom and one to serve as a living room, made it pretty clear that rooms are tallied up without differentiating use. It's very straightforward, in a way: A three-room listing means three rooms that you can use however you want!
Some Germans put up signs saying they are looking to rent or have an extra place in their shared flat, or "WG"Image: picture alliance/ZB
Warm or cold rent?
What is not so straightforward is rent, because there are two types: "warm" and "cold." The "cold" rent is the price to pay for the space alone. The "warm" rent includes heating, electricity, water, and then of course there are other monthly costs to remember like building admin fees, for the company that keeps the halls clean and takes the trash out, and internet.
Apropos internet: Arrange it early. Months ahead of time, ideally. I would advise arranging it before you even know you want to move, if this were even possible! I learned the hard way. Getting internet takes forever, thanks to "the last mile." While it would make a good movie title, it actually refers to the final distance that internet cables cover before connecting to an apartment. This is usually owned by the market-dominant provider, which rents the cable's usage out to many different internet providers. So when it comes to switching internet on for a new tenant, this big company holds the keys — and it has no incentive to unlock access quickly.
In comparison to all that, the physical move itself seemed easy. Some 28% of Germans hire a moving company, the well-known moving portal Immobilien24Scout has found, but I joined the majority and did it myself: rented a van, roped some friends in with the promise of food and beer as a thank you, and hung up a handmade sign on the street asking for forgiveness for parking where I shouldn't have been.
And while settling in takes a while, I discovered that the German postal company offers a handy service that automatically updates your mailing address for you with businesses, offices and utilities. At least I could get snail mail while waiting for my internet.
What to know before renting an apartment in Germany
In Germany, renting is more common than in most other European countries, with 48 percent of residents living in rental accommodations. Here are some particularities about renting in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/Wolfram Steinberg
Rental barracks
Berlin's endless rows of tenements were once horribly overcrowded, with large families often living in one- or two-room flats. But in recent years, these so-called Altbau, or old buildings, have enjoyed a rapid renaissance. These blocks in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin were, until the early 1990s, often empty and in a state of severe disrepair. Now everyone wants to rent an Altbau.
Image: picture alliance/ZB
Plattenbau
In former East Germany, where nearly all accommodation was rented from the government, prefab concrete housing blocks known as Plattenbau rose up across the communist nation. Not only were they cheap, but they were often preferred to Altbau apartments because they offered all modern conveniences like new plumbing that didn't leak, reliable electricity and hot water.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Burgi
Balconies
According to the most recent statistics from Statista (2015), 48 percent of Germans rent and 52 percent are home-owners. Most renters live in apartments - and make the most of their balconies. Some barbeque or lounge, while others grow overflowing gardens that utilize every last inch of precious outdoor space. Balconies can be veritable ecosystems that become rather bleak in the winter months.
In some Germans cities, particularly Berlin, rental houses are made up of front and back buildings separated by an inner courtyard through which the life of these rental communities ebb and flow. They are unique communal spaces across which people view each other's lives, and where they interact as they park their bicycles or access their numerous garbage bins.
Image: picture-alliance/ZB/M. Krause
Names instead of numbers
Only the names of residents are used to identify the flats inside a building in Germany. These names on the intercom of a Hamburg apartment building typically have no corresponding flat number. That means you have to address letters to Germany clearly because the mail carrier only has the name to go by.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Scholz
Flat sharing
Known as WGs, or Wohngemeinschaften, shared apartments are popular in big cities where apartment prices are rising and availability is shrinking. People who share flats often also rent out the living area to bring prices down as much as possible. This is especially so in Berlin, a city full of artists, students and people on low budgets.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Kalaene
Paint when you leave
Painting the apartment before you leave is another German rental tradition. Leaving the walls shiny white for the next residents isn't such a bad thing - but it means you have to spend days preparing walls and climbing ladders before you move out. Not all rental contracts force tenants to paint the apartment - however they are obliged to leave it as they found it.
Image: picture alliance/Denkou Images
BYO kitchen
In some German cities, kitchens and appliances are not included in rental properties. That means the tenant has to purchase their own and have it installed at their expense. Alternatively, some people buy the previous tenant's kitchen at a discount if they aren't planning on taking it with them to their next living space.
Image: DW/S. Braun
Small bathrooms in old rental buildings
Among the quirks of Altbau apartments is that many didn't use to include facilities, which were sometimes shared communally. That means that you'll find bathrooms today that are wedged into the smallest - and oddest - spaces. Or, in some cases, they might be huge and replace an entire former room. This shower in a Berlin flat was built in the kitchen cupboard.
Image: DW/S. Braun
Not all rooms are bedrooms
When scanning apartment listings in Germany, you'll generally find the sizes given in square meters and the number of rooms. The latter includes not just bedrooms, but also living space. The kitchen and bathroom(s) are listed separately. Apartments are most expensive in Munich, Frankfurt and Stuttgart, where new tentants pay on average 16.55, 13.37 and 12.95 euros per square meter respectively.
