<aside> 🎯 Are you looking for an apartment in Berlin? This is the ultimate guide with all the necessary information, making your search productive, faster, and more manageable.

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What makes this guide unique?

Terms & Templates

<aside> 🏠 Telegram bot that will make your search easier

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Structure

1. Before you start

1.1 Documents & Finance

The process of apartment search is very tough. You need to have many documents before you even start applying. Also, don’t forget to keep calm and remember the apartment search process - it’s almost a full-time job.

1. Prepare documents Follow all instructions and be sure you’ll have everything you need.
2. Save money to pay Kaution (deposit) You need enough money to pay the deposit and the first month of rent. The deposit is usually 3 times the cold rent. You will also need to buy furniture, appliances, and house supplies.
3. Open a bank account (optional, but if you are living in Germany, you’ll need this)

1.2 How it different Germany?

Something that you may not expect when you arrive in Berlin.

• The deposit. Almost all apartments require a deposit. It's usually 3 times the cold rent. You get it back when you move out. You can pay it in 3 installments.

• Cold rent and warm rent. In Germany, there is the cold rent and warm rent. Nebenkosten (service chargers) - It's what you pay every month. The Nebenkosten is not a fixed cost; it is adjusted yearly based on your usage.

• Nothing is included. Apartments usually come without a washing machine, curtains, light fixtures or a furnished kitchen (stove, fridge, sink). You must buy your own or buy them from the previous tenant. In Berlin, apartments must include a stove and a sink, but not in the rest of Germany. Furnished apartments come with a kitchen, furniture, and everything else.

  <aside> 💡 If you have enough money, you could look for apartments with furniture. It will cost you more because you’ll need to pay additional costs for the whole furniture (about €2-€5k, depending on the furniture). Because you pay more, fewer people can afford it, so competition here is smaller as well.

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• Rent is paid by bank transfer. You usually pay the rent by SEPA transfer. You rarely pay the rent with cash and never with cheques.

• Rooms are counted differently. In Germany, the living room also counts as a room. A studio is a 1 Zimmer Wohnung. A 3 bedroom apartment with a living room is a 4 Zimmer Wohnung. The kitchen and the bathroom do not count as rooms.

• Floors are counted differently. In North America, the first floor is the ground floor. In Germany, there is the ground floor (Erdgeschoss or EG), then the first floor.

• **Broadcasting tax.** Each household pays the TV tax (Rundfunkbeitrag). It costs 18.36€ per month. If you live with other people, you can split the cost.