You would like to rent or let an apartment, for a temporary period of time in Germany, and want everything to go smoothly. You will find some tips here on what you should look out for.
If you would like to let your apartment and are not the owner but the tenant in the apartment, you should check with the owner, or the property management as the case may be. You may find some reference to subletting in your own rental contract.
Whether it is for one month or one year: If you are renting or letting an apartment, a written rental contract should also be drawn up for temporary periods of time. Future misunderstandings can therefore be avoided and anything agreed will not be forgotten.
In this case a temporary rental contract will be used, which is mainly used when the landlord wants to move in (again) after the lease has run its course. The contract for temporary use is used occasionally if the apartment is in fact only needed temporarily by the tenant. An unlimited contract is also used to some extent, then often with short periods of termination for the tenant.
Make sure to be shown the ID card. The personal details from the landlord and the tenant can be noted in the rental contract.
It is normal, also with the furnished apartments for temporary living, that a deposit is paid to the landlord. The initial payments are generally made to the landlord by the time of the handover at the latest. With cash payments, both sides should remember that these are acknowledged by the recipient, including a remark for what the payment was made.
For everyone involved, it is advisable, with temporary rentals too, to make a proper handover of the apartment. Important points can be listed in a handover protocol, such as how many keys for the apartment are handed over and indications to the condition of the apartment for example. The meters should be read, and noted, for extra expenses that are not included in the warm rent, but will be billed, based on usage, by the landlord.
With furnished apartments, it is recommended to always use an inventory list of the furnishing. This will be gone through during the handing over. The protocol, as well as the inventory list, should be signed by both parties, with each party taking a copy.
You can give the apartment back in the same way with the help of these documents.
Make sure to get the contact details from your landlord in case of emergency. You will be happy to know who to call, when water is dripping through from your neighbors apartment (after you have knocked on your neighbors door). The landlord is always a good point of contact. It is especially useful to have further contacts if the landlord is not in the city during the rental period: The caretaker, the property management or a person who knows the apartment well.
You can find apartments available for temporary rental in many platforms. If you want to safe time you can search on platforms that are specialized in temporary lettings such as HomeLike for example.