The landlord confirmation for registration (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung)

The law speaks of the Wohnungsgeber, the person who actually lets you use the home, whether or not there is a valid contract. In practice:

• Renting from a private owner or a housing company. The owner signs, or a person they have authorised. Housing companies sign through authorised staff.
• Property management (Hausverwaltung). Property managers usually act on the owner's behalf and can sign.
• Sublet or shared flat (Untermiete, WG). The main tenant is the Wohnungsgeber and signs for subtenants and flatmates, including when they let a room for free or only for a share of the costs.
• Living with a partner, family or friends. The person whose home it is (as main tenant or owner) signs for you.
• Furnished and short-term rentals. The person or company letting the flat or room to you signs.
• You own the flat you move into. You sign it yourself, as a self-declaration.

Only the Wohnungsgeber or a person they have authorised may issue it. Issuing one without being entitled to is itself an offence.

The content is set by law (BMG § 19 (3)):

1. Name and address of the Wohnungsgeber and, if the Wohnungsgeber is not the owner, also the owner's name. This matters for sublets.
2. The move-in date.
3. The address of the home (adding a flat number or position, such as Vorderhaus, 3. OG links, helps).
4. The names of everyone who has moved in and must register, including children under 16.

It must be signed. The model form published in the federal guidelines, and the templates offered by cities such as Berlin, are samples. What counts is that all the required details and the signature are there. Using the official template avoids questions at the counter.

The law also allows the landlord to confirm electronically, directly to the registration office, where the office offers this. The landlord then receives a code to pass on to you for your registration.

The landlord must give you the confirmation within two weeks of your move-in. If they refuse, or it simply does not arrive in time, the law requires you to tell the registration office without delay (BMG § 19 (2)). This protects you: you have done what you are obliged to do.

What then usually happens:

• Under the federal administrative rules, the registration office should still register you if you have actually moved in, and you hand in the confirmation later. Local practice can vary, so explain the situation when you book or at the counter, and bring your rental contract and any written requests you sent the landlord.
• The registration office can ask the owner or landlord directly who lives in the home.
• A landlord who does not confirm, or does not confirm correctly or on time, commits an administrative offence that can be fined up to €1,000 (BMG § 54).

Before involving the office, a short written request with a deadline is often enough. Include the official template already filled in with your details, so the landlord only needs to sign.

In a sublet the main tenant signs, and must add the owner's name. The registration office does not check whether the sublet is allowed under the tenancy.

Whether subletting is allowed is a separate question of tenancy law. Under the Civil Code, a tenant generally needs the landlord's permission to let someone else use the flat (BGB § 540). A tenant who develops a legitimate interest in letting part of the flat can usually ask the landlord for that permission (BGB § 553). If your main tenant is reluctant to sign because they have not asked for permission, the problem lies between them and their landlord. They still owe you the confirmation under registration law.

Before you agree to a sublet or WG room, ask directly whether you will be able to register there and get the confirmation. A sublet where you cannot register makes the tax ID, a bank account and immigration appointments harder.

It is prohibited to offer or provide an address for registration when nobody actually lives there or intends to (BMG § 19 (6)). Offering such an address can be fined up to €50,000, and a sham registration is cancelled backdated to its start. Offers to "sell" an Anmeldung address, or a confirmation without a real room, are a known scam pattern. Avoid them even when appointments or flats are hard to find.

• Owner-occupiers confirm their own move-in on the same form.
• Refugee reception and shared accommodation. Where the registration office knows that an address is an assigned initial reception facility or shared accommodation, it does not need a landlord confirmation.
• People displaced from Ukraine in Berlin can use a dedicated confirmation of accommodation, which Berlin accepts in place of the usual form. Registration with it is in person only.
• Moving out. The current law only requires a confirmation for moving in. Deregistration does not need one.