Temporary accommodation in Berlin: furnished rentals, sublets and registration

• Furnished temporary flats (möblierte Wohnung auf Zeit, Wohnen auf Zeit). Usually rented for one to several months through specialised agencies and platforms, often with utilities and internet included. This is a large market: the Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) counted 36,959 listings for furnished temporary flats in 2025, compared with 40,014 listings for regular rentals. Because temporary flats can be listed several times a year, the numbers are not directly comparable.
• Sublets (Untermiete or Zwischenmiete). You rent all or part of a flat from the main tenant while they are away or because they have a spare room. Often cheaper and more local, but you depend on the main tenant's arrangement with the landlord.
• Rooms in shared flats (Wohngemeinschaft, WG). Common and sociable, usually let by the main tenant. Expect to be interviewed by the flatmates.
• Serviced apartments and aparthotels. Flexible, but usually the most expensive option, and registration depends on the operator.
• Hotels, hostels and holiday flats. Fine for the first nights, but rarely a good base for registration (see below).

Under section 17 of the Federal Registration Act you must register within two weeks of moving into a flat. Your registration certificate then unlocks your tax ID, and banks, employers and the immigration office regularly ask for it. To register, you need a move-in confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung) from the person who provides the flat (section 19). In a sublet, that is the main tenant, as the Mietervereinigung Berlin explains.

Points to know:

• Hotels and other commercial accommodation follow section 29: the duty to register only arises after a stay of more than six months, or more than three months if you have no address registered in Germany. So do not expect a move-in confirmation for a short hotel stay.
• Short stays while your main home is abroad. Section 27 exempts people who live abroad and are not registered in Germany for the first three months. If you have actually moved to Germany, you will want to register anyway, because so many next steps depend on it.
• Ask in writing before you pay: "Can I register at this address, and will you sign the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung?" Get the answer in the listing or in your contract.
• Never buy a registration address. Offering an address for registration to someone who does not live there is prohibited by section 19 and can be fined up to €50,000 (section 54).

If a landlord refuses to issue the confirmation even though you live there, the Mietervereinigung Berlin advises asking in writing and then informing the registration office, which can follow up with the landlord. Landlords who refuse or delay can themselves be fined up to €1,000.

Berlin restricts the use of residential flats for short-term holiday letting under its Zweckentfremdungsverbot (ban on misuse of housing). Anyone advertising a flat for holiday use needs approval from the district office and a registration number that must be visible in every listing. A main residence can, for example, have rooms making up at most 49% of its floor space let without a full permit, after notifying the district office.

For you as a guest, a holiday listing without a registration number is a warning sign: the letting may not be authorised, and such places are a poor bet if you need to register. The rules for short-term letting are adjusted from time to time, so check the Senate's information page for the current position.

• Landlord's permission. A tenant may only let a third party use the flat with the landlord's permission (section 540 Civil Code). If the main tenant sublets without it, the landlord may take action against the main tenant, which can end your stay abruptly. Ask whether permission (Untermieterlaubnis) exists and, ideally, see it.
• Written contract. Dates, rent, what is included (heating, electricity, internet, broadcasting fee), notice rules, the deposit and how it will be returned.
• Registration. The main tenant signs your move-in confirmation.
• Inventory. For furnished rooms, list the furniture and existing damage with photos at handover.
• Deposit. A deposit may not exceed three monthly rents excluding operating costs, and you may pay it in three monthly instalments (section 551 Civil Code).

Many tenant protections, including the rules that limit rents in tight markets, do not apply to housing let only for temporary use (section 549 (2) Civil Code). The same exclusion applies to a furnished room inside a flat the landlord lives in. This is one reason why furnished temporary flats are often priced well above regular rentals.

Whether a contract is genuinely for temporary use depends on the circumstances, not only on the label. If a temporary contract is extended again and again or the rent looks excessive, get advice from a tenants' association. See tenant rights in Berlin and rental terms explained.

There is no official statistic for furnished temporary rents in Berlin. As a reference for regular rentals: the IBB Housing Market Report 2025 found a median asking rent of €15.78 per square metre per month (net, excluding operating costs) in 2025, about €19.22 in the inner city and €13.01 in the outer districts. Furnished temporary offers usually quote an all-inclusive price, so compare like with like. Use the moving costs tool and cost of living in Berlin to plan, and assume your search for a long-term flat may take longer than you hope: the IBB reports that regular listings were online for only about 1.5 weeks on average in 2025.

The Verbraucherzentrale lists the typical signs of fake listings:

• The rent is far below comparable flats.
• The "landlord" is abroad, cannot show the flat and offers to send keys by post after you pay.
• You are asked to pay a deposit or rent before a viewing or before signing a contract.
• You are asked to send a copy of your passport or ID early in the conversation.
• The bank account is in another country than the flat, or photos appear elsewhere online (try a reverse image search).

Pay only after you have seen the flat and signed a contract with an identifiable landlord or company. If you cannot view it yourself, ask someone you trust in Berlin to view it for you. If you have been scammed, contact your bank immediately, report it to the police (Berlin police accept reports online), and report the listing to the platform. More in rental scams.