WG-Casting: how it works and what to ask, for the flat and for applicants

What is a WG-Casting and how does it work?

A WG-Casting is a get-to-know-you meeting at which a WG (shared flat) and people interested in a free room check whether they suit each other. Some call it a flat viewing or an introduction round. It is not an audition; it is about whether daily life and expectations fit. It usually takes place in the flat, often at the kitchen table, and lasts 20 to 30 minutes. At the end the flat says by when it will get back to you.

For newcomers to Germany: what to expect

In many German cities the flatmates, not a landlord or an agency, choose who gets a free room, so you apply to the people you will live with. If you are the applicant: expect to be shown the flat and asked about your daily routine, and prepare questions of your own. If you are the flat: you are choosing a person to share a kitchen and bathroom with, so look beyond a good first impression. Two terms come up early. Kaution is the deposit, a security payment held by the landlord. Untermiete is subletting, which means you rent a room from a main tenant (Hauptmieter) rather than directly from the landlord.

The ten most important questions

1. What does a normal day look like for you?
2. When do you get up and when do you go to bed?
3. Do you like cooking, alone or with others?
4. What does a clean kitchen mean to you?
5. Have you lived with a cleaning rota before, and how did it go?
6. Would you rather share the shopping or buy for yourself?
7. How often do you have visitors, including overnight?
8. Do you smoke, do you have pets or plan to?
9. Are you looking for a practical flat share or shared evenings?
10. Roughly how long would you like to live here?

Questions about daily life and rhythm

• Do you work or study a lot from home, and do you need quiet for it?
• Are you more of an early bird or a night owl?
• How long do you need in the bathroom in the morning?
• Do you prefer to eat alone or with others?
• How often are you at home at weekends?
• How much time would you like to spend with your flatmates?

Questions about tidiness and cleaning

• How often should the bathroom be cleaned?
• What bothers you most in a kitchen?
• Do you wash up straight away or the next day?
• How do you deal with it when a task is left undone?
• Do you prefer fixed tasks or to rotate in turn?
• Who should remind you when it is your turn, and how?
• Honest answers matter more here than the expected ones: someone who admits to being rather untidy but reliably does fixed tasks often fits better than someone who promises perfection.

Questions about money and shopping

• Are there things you definitely do not want to share?
• How should internet, electricity and cleaning supplies be split?
• Would you enter expenses in a shared expenses app and settle up at the end of the month?
• What do you buy for everyone, and what for yourself?
• For basics such as washing-up liquid and toilet paper: do you pay from a kitty or in turn?
• Would you say so if money gets tight?
• Tell them openly how your flat has settled up so far, see splitting flat costs. Anyone who knows at the casting how things are settled has no surprises later.

Questions about guests, partners and parties

• How long can a guest stay before people ask first?
• Do you have a partner who would often be here?
• Do you like having parties at home?
• From when should it be quiet on weekdays?
• How do you tell people when you plan guests or a party?
• What is loud for you, and what is still normal?

Questions about flat-share experience and conflicts

• Have you lived in a WG before? What worked well there, and what was difficult?
• What matters most to you about living together today?
• What do you do when something about a flatmate bothers you?
• How do you react when someone raises something with you?
• What would your former flatmates say about you?
• These questions show how someone actually behaves, not just what they intend. Someone who talks about an earlier row calmly, without running the others down, makes a good impression.

Smoking, pets, instruments

• Is smoking allowed in the flat, or only on the balcony?
• What pets do you have or plan to have, and who looks after them on holiday?
• Do you play an instrument, and when do you practise?
• Do smoke or pet smells in the shared rooms bother you?
• These points cause the most trouble when they are not discussed beforehand. The tenancy agreement can set limits on pets, so settle that first.

Questions applicants ask the flat

• Why is the room becoming available?
• Is there a tenancy agreement of your own or a sublease, and who is the main tenant (Hauptmieter)?
• How high is the Warmmiete (rent including heating and other utilities), and what does it cover?
• How high is the Kaution (deposit)?
• What notice period applies?
• Who decides on the choice, and by when will I hear?
• How long do the others want to go on living in the flat?
• How does the cleaning rota work?
• Is there a shared kitty, and how are expenses split?
• How much does the flat do together?
• Contract types and deposits are covered in the guide to the flat-share tenancy agreement. In short: a deposit for a regular tenancy in Germany is capped at three months’ Kaltmiete (rent excluding utilities) and may be paid in three equal monthly instalments. If the ad uses abbreviations such as WM or NK, the flat-share glossary explains them.

Preparing as an applicant

• The ad: read it again and note what you like about the flat, then you have a concrete answer to “Why would you like to join us?”.
• About you: three sentences are enough: what you do, what your day looks like and how long you want to stay.
• Your own questions: prepare two or three, for example about the cleaning rota, the kitty and why the room is becoming available.
• Be on time: if you will be late, say so briefly.
• Stay honest: anyone who pretends is noticed by the second month at the latest.

As an applicant on site: behaviour and clothes

• Clothes: wear what you feel comfortable in, normal and tidy is enough. You are visiting a flat, not going to a job interview.
• Manner: put your phone away and remember the names. Look at the flat without judging it, and do not praise anything you do not mean.
• Conversation: answer in two or three sentences and ask a question yourself now and then, so it becomes a conversation.
• Weaknesses: admit where you are not perfect and say what you reliably do about it.
• Ending: ask by when the flat will get back to you, and say a brief thank you.

As an applicant: first message and follow-up

Your first message often decides whether you are invited to the WG-Casting. Keep it short, five to eight sentences, and refer to the ad: “Hello Mia and Jonas, I am Sara, 24, and I work part-time in an office. From December I am looking for a room in Leipzig, preferably for longer than a year. I like your ad because you eat together on Sundays and still leave each other in peace. During the week I am usually home from 6 pm. I would be glad to meet, I am free from Wednesday.” The day after the casting, one line is enough: “Thank you for the nice chat yesterday, I liked the flat and the conversation in the kitchen. I look forward to hearing from you.” If the flat has not been in touch by the date they gave, ask once, politely.

Questions that do not belong in a casting

• Questions about origin, religion, health, pregnancy or wanting children, and sexual orientation are intrusive and say nothing about whether someone fits the daily life of the flat.
• If someone volunteers such things, that is their right. But you do not ask about them and do not weigh them.
• Ask instead about what counts in daily life: quiet hours, eating habits, visitors and how long someone wants to stay.

Asking sensitive questions better

• Instead of “Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?”: “How often do you have visitors, including overnight?”
• Instead of “What do you earn?”: “Is the rent secure for you in the long run?”
• Instead of “Do you have any health conditions?”: “Are there allergies or dietary rules we should consider when cooking?”
• Instead of “Do you want children?”: “How long would you like to live here?”
• Applicants may say that a question is too personal. That is no reason to rate them lower.

Inviting and preparing as a flat

Do not invite too many people at once. How you collect and pre-sort applications is covered in find a flatmate. Individual appointments with some buffer work better than a group casting where the loudest win. As many flatmates as possible should be there, because anyone who does not help decide feels overruled later. And agree beforehand what matters to you, so the decision does not hang on gut feeling alone.

Video casting and scams

If meeting in person is not possible, for example when moving from abroad, a video call in which the flat shows the rooms also works. No money before a contract and a viewing: anyone asked to transfer a deposit or rent before they have seen the flat and have a contract in hand should walk away. More on the search and warning signs is in find a flatmate.

Deciding after the casting

Sit down together straight after the last meeting while impressions are fresh. Go through the points you set beforehand and ask yourselves honestly who you want to sit with in the kitchen on a rainy Sunday. Say yes quickly to the person chosen and decline the others politely. Anyone who hears nothing waits needlessly and does not keep looking.

Accepting and declining: reply templates

• Offer: “Hi Tim, we would be glad if you moved in with us. The room is free from 1 December, €420 all-in. Please tell us by Friday whether you accept, and we will send you the draft contract and our house rules.”
• Decline: “Hi Lena, thank you for the nice chat yesterday. We have chosen someone whose daily life fits a little better. It was not an easy choice. We wish you every success with the search.”
• Timing: send declines on the same day as the offer, so nobody waits.
• Content: no reasons that judge the person, and no comparisons with others.
• Afterwards: what to settle before moving in is covered in find a flatmate and in the moving-in checklist.