Housing in Germany

How to find an apartment

This guide helps you find an apartment for rent in Berlin. It explains everything from the housing search to moving in.

• Rent prices map
  See the rent per m² in each Berlin neighbourhood
• Common housing scams
  Apartment scams you must know about when looking for a place to live in Germany.
• How to get a Schufa
  If you are applying for an apartment in Berlin, you will almost always be asked to include a Schufa in your application. This is how you obtain a Schufa-Auskunft for free

Moving in

All the little things you should do when moving to a new address in Germany: address changes, mail forwarding and more.

• How apartment deposits work
  Here's how you pay your apartment deposit (Mietkaution) in Germany, and how you get all of it back when you move out.
• How to get key doubles
  This is how you make copies of your apartment keys for cheap.
• How electric bills work
  This guide explains how you pay for electricity in Germany, and how to lower your power bills.
• How the TV tax works
  The TV tax is a broadcasting tax that every German household must pay. Here is how it works.
• Quiet hours and noise laws
  Here's how the quiet hours work in Berlin, and what to do with loud neighbours in Berlin
  • How to make a noise complaint
    If you are dealing with loud neighbours in Berlin, this is how you file a noise complaint with the Ordnungsamt.
• Review of Conny rent reduction
  A neutral, independent review of Conny's rent reduction service.

Changing your address

This guide explains how to change your address and redirect your mail.

• How to register your address
  This guide explains how to do your Anmeldung in Berlin. This is how you register your address, and how you get a Meldebescheinigung and a tax ID.
• How to get a Bürgeramt appointment
  This is how you get an appointment at the citizens' office in Berlin. This is required for the Anmeldung and many other services.
• How to get a Mel­de­be­schei­ni­gung
  This is how you get a Meldebescheinigung - a copy of your Anmeldebestätigung - in Berlin.

Moving out

Everything you must do when leaving your apartment: ending your lease, changing your address, hiring a moving company and more.

• How to deregister your address
  If you leave Germany, you must deregister your address. This is called the Abmeldung. This guide shows you how to do it in Berlin.
• What to do if you lose your keys
  How to replace your lost or stolen keys, and how to call a locksmith and get back into your apartment.
• How to leave Germany
  Instructions for leaving Germany and moving to another country.
  • How to get a pension refund
    If you left Germany, you can get your German pension payments back. It can be worth thousands of euros.