There are many resources available for finding an apartment in Germany.
We recommend you to consider Immo Scout24, Ebay Kleinanzeigen or Facebook groups for renting apartments in your city.
But first of all, we want to introduce you to a few important notes:
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You should be aware that there are scams on the market. The scheme is usually as follows: you are asked to sign an agreement online, then pay a deposit and the first month's rent to a card, in exchange for which they are supposed to send you a key to the apartment because the owner is in another country or city and cannot come.
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Remember, in Germany you never pay rent in absentia. You have to come and see the property first, and only then sign a contract and pay the deposit.
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It is easier to rent a room than an apartment. Especially if you plan to study and agree to live with students.
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In Germany, there is a rule of silence, and in general, privacy is valued. Therefore, do not indicate any music-related hobbies when filling out an application for housing.
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Only look for accommodation of a suitable size, if you plan to live alone, you do not need to apply for an apartment of 90 square metres or more. Especially if this accommodation is to be paid for by the job centre.
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And of course, having pets significantly reduces your chances of finding a place to live.
Having finished with the notes, let's now talk about the way in which you can successfully solve the housing issue.
To rent an apartment, you need to write an application letter with a detailed description of your personal data and photos of all potential tenants, you can put them all together in one photo.
So what should you write in it?
The first thing you need to write is a greeting, followed by an introduction.
Next, write that you really liked the property you are applying for. Write that the accommodation is suitable for you for the reason(s) you need to list. For example, your sister lives in the neighbouring house or your child goes to school nearby. But do not write too much so that the landlord does not spend a lot of time processing your application.
It is important to write that you have come to Germany from Ukraine and have already done something, for example, completed all the documents, enrolled your children in kindergarten, attended language courses, studied, and most importantly, plan to stay and work here. The landlord needs to understand that you are only interested in a long-term lease and that you are a fairly independent and motivated person.
Also, write that since you are not working yet, the job centre will pay for your apartment, so it will take some time to approve the lease, it can take about 1-2 weeks, so you intend to view the apartment as soon as possible and get a contract to speed up the procedure for the landlord.
If you are working, you need to state that you are working and what you do for a living.
It is also a good idea to indicate that you do not have any bad habits, especially smoking.
After you have submitted your application, the owner may reply to you by email or call you and ask some questions, or invite you to a viewing and interview you during the viewing. You need to answer all questions politely.
Here is a short sample application in German:
"Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
mein Name ist Lilіja Oleksiv. I habe Ihre Anzeige auf dem eBay gefunden. Die Wohnung auf der Ludwigstrasse 12 ist sehr licht und schön. Sie passt mir perfekt, weil meine Schwester mit ihrer Familie in der Nähe wohnt.
Ich bin im September 2022 (mit meinen Kindern, 9 und 12 Jahrealt) aus der Ukraine nach Deutschland gekommen. Jetzt lerne ich Deutsch in der Linguaschule und nachhälfe in Caritas. Nachdem ich Deutsch gelernt habe, plane ich zur Arbeit gehen. Ich habe keine schlechten Angewohnheiten.
Ich habe auch keine Haustiere. Aber ich habe viele Hobbys: schwimmen, lesen, joggen, reisen.
Da ich noch nicht arbeite, wird die Wohnung vom Jobcenter bezahlt.
Gerne treffe ich Sie schnellstmöglich bei der Wohnungsbesichtigung und kümmere mich selbständige um die Formalisierung aller notwendigen Unterlagen.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Liliya Oleksiv"
Let's move on to the questions from the owner. The most common questions are:
- Do you smoke?
- Do you have any pets?
- Do you have any hobbies and what are they?
- How much do you earn?
- Do you have any outstanding loans?
These questions are normal, because they help the landlord to make a conclusion about how long you plan to live in the apartment, whether you will be able to pay for it, and whether you will not disturb your neighbours.
What documents can an employer ask you for?
Usually, this is a list of the following three documents (but sometimes more):
- identity card
- salary slip
- shufa
The Schufa is a special database, your credit history, so to speak. This database contains the data of every German resident and their credit history.
