Finding housing for a short term must be done in advance
As Deutsche Welle notes, prices for such housing are often significantly higher than for rentals of one year or more. If you want to rent cheap and comfortable housing, you need a special strategy.
Sublease agreement
Among students and young professionals who plan to live in another city for a while, for example, to do an internship, renting housing for a limited period (Zwischenmiete) is in demand. Its main principle is that you rent the apartment not from the landlord, but from the tenant, and the rental agreement is valid only for a specified period of time.
Such housing is usually fully furnished, and prices are moderate because the apartments are rented out only while the tenant is on vacation, studying abroad, or working in another city.
If you do not want to overpay a broker, it is better to search for housing yourself. The most popular websites for finding short-term apartments are: www.wg-gesucht.de, www.immobilienscout24.de, www.zwischenmiete.de, and www.studenten-wg.de. You can also use the Airbnb website version. However, because the site was originally designed for daily rentals and is more geared toward travelers, prices are higher than the average monthly rent in Germany.
The most cost-effective solution
The cheapest option is to rent a room in a student dormitory or a room in a student shared apartment (Wohngemeinschaft, or WG). Prices for such rooms range from 200 to 500 euros, depending on the region and city.
"You pay the least if you live in an apartment with several roommates. In recent years, interest in such rooms has grown significantly," says Annegret Mühlbauer from the press office of WG-gesucht.de. According to her, this type of housing used to be popular only among students. Today, more and more people working in different cities prefer to share an apartment. Renting such a room is good not only for the moderate rent: the tenant has the opportunity to meet new people, get to know the city, and improve their German language skills.
As with regular rentals, the rent amount may be stated without utilities (Kaltmiete) or may include utility costs (Warmmiete) – payment for water, heating, cold and hot water, and sometimes garbage disposal, house cleaning, and garden maintenance. The latter option is more common for short-term rentals.
Internet and telephone must be paid separately, but when renting a room in a shared apartment, these services are cheaper because the cost is split among all tenants. In state-run student dormitories, internet access is even free.
Safety rules
Some landlords offer not to sign a short-term contract to avoid paperwork. This will slightly reduce the time spent searching for housing, but in this case, the tenant remains legally unprotected. Experts strongly recommend signing a rental agreement, even if you plan to stay in the apartment for no more than a month.
"Housing search platforms usually do not provide any legal assistance. Therefore, we advise contacting your landlord in advance and clearly discussing all terms of the contract," says Annegret Mühlbauer.
Termination of the rental agreement must always be in writing. It is important to ensure that the owner has received your notice, so it is better to send it by registered mail. Typically, the notice period is three months before the end of the contract term. In the case of temporary rentals, the period is usually reduced to a few weeks. It is important that the contract clearly specifies the term and conditions of termination.
An important factor – neighbors
Before making a final decision on renting, it is important to find out who your neighbors are. It is best to rent housing with people who have a similar lifestyle. If you need to work a lot in peace and quiet, a lively student group next door is unlikely to contribute to that.
Even though you do not plan to stay in the apartment for long, to feel comfortable after moving in, it is better to find out the rules of cohabitation and follow them. It is important to be able to adapt to other tenants in the shared apartment and be ready to compromise. If a newcomer is not willing to adhere to the established order, the neighbors may ask them to move out.