Moving into a flat share in Germany: the checklist

Before moving in: contract and paperwork

Find out whether you get your own tenancy agreement with the landlord or a sublease with a flatmate. Ask about the amount and repayment of the Kaution (deposit): it may be at most three months’ Kaltmiete (rent excluding utilities), and can be paid in three monthly instalments. Also ask whether the rent is quoted as Warmmiete (including heating and other utilities) or Kaltmiete (excluding them). Abbreviations such as WM and KM are explained in the flat-share glossary. Have the rooms, cupboards and fridge shelves that are yours pointed out to you. Ask about the existing house rules on quiet, visitors and cleaning, and how costs are split.

On move-in day

Have the keys handed over and note how many there are. Look at the room together with the person handing over, and photograph any damage. That protects you when you move out. Ask about the wifi, the fuse box, the main water tap and where to keep bicycles. For your Anmeldung (address registration) in Germany at the Bürgeramt (citizens’ office), you need a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung (landlord’s confirmation of move-in), issued by the landlord or the main tenant. The registration is due within two weeks of moving in.

In the first week

Get to know your flatmates, ideally over a shared dinner. Have rubbish separation, collection days and washing machine times explained. Add yourself to the cleaning rota and ask how the rotation works. If there is none yet, the guide to making a cleaning rota helps, and a printable cleaning rota template gets you started. If the flat share uses ManaWG as its flat-share app, you join with an invite link and immediately see the cleaning rota, shopping list, calendar and noticeboard.

Settle the money from the start

Ask who holds the electricity, internet and Rundfunkbeitrag (broadcasting fee) contracts and how you pay your share. The Rundfunkbeitrag in a flat share is due only once per flat, not from each person individually. Find out whether there is a shared household kitty, and whether existing items such as the washing machine or kitchen appliances should be bought out. In ManaWG, after joining you see the flat’s fixed costs, expenses and balances, and new expenses are shared with you from then on.

Talk about how you live

Raise early what matters to you: bedtimes, overnight guests, smoking, pets, noise, cooking together. Small differences are easy to settle when they come up early. Raising a problem only after three months is harder. What the flat share agrees can go on the noticeboard so it does not get lost in the group chat.

What comes with you to the flat-share room

• Bedding, towels and your own toiletries
• Plate, cup and cutlery, if the kitchen is sparsely equipped
• Extension lead and multi-socket adaptor
• Your own labelled shelf for food
• Passport or ID and the landlord’s confirmation of move-in for the Anmeldung

After the first month

Sit down together once and ask what is going well and what is not. Adjust the cleaning rota if tasks are unevenly spread. At the first settlement, check that the cost split works as you discussed.