German rental terms explained: Kaltmiete, Kaution, Staffelmiete and more

• Net cold rent (Kaltmiete, Nettokaltmiete). The rent for the flat itself, without any operating or heating costs. Rent indexes, the rent cap and the deposit limit are all based on this figure.
• Operating costs (Nebenkosten, legally Betriebskosten). Ongoing costs of the building that the landlord may pass on if the contract says so, for example property tax, water and sewage, waste collection, building cleaning, lighting of common areas, caretaker, lift, garden and building insurance. The legal list has 17 categories. Costs of management and repairs may not be passed on as operating costs.
• Advance payment or flat rate (Vorauszahlung or Pauschale). Most contracts set a monthly advance payment that is settled once a year against actual costs. A flat rate is fixed and not settled afterwards.
• Heating costs (Heizkosten). Usually part of the monthly advance. In buildings with central heating, at least 50% and at most 70% of heating costs must be split according to measured consumption; the rest is split by floor area.
• Warm rent (Warmmiete). In everyday language, the total you pay each month: net cold rent plus advances for operating and heating costs. Electricity for your own flat, internet and the broadcasting fee are usually extra.
• Gross cold rent (Bruttokaltmiete, Inklusivmiete). A rent that already includes some or all operating costs except heating. Check carefully what is included.
• Furniture surcharge (Möblierungszuschlag). An extra amount for furniture in a furnished flat. In Berlin, the Senate's guideline bases it on 2% per month of the furniture's current value.

For orientation in Berlin: according to the city's operating cost overview for 2026, based on 2024 bills, "cold" operating costs averaged about €1.93 per m² per month and heating plus hot water about €1.50 per m² per month. Your own costs depend on the building and your consumption.

• Operating cost statement (Nebenkostenabrechnung, Betriebskostenabrechnung). Once a year the landlord compares your advance payments with the actual costs. You then either pay the difference (Nachzahlung) or get money back (Guthaben).
• Deadline for the landlord. The statement must reach you no later than 12 months after the end of the billing period. After that, the landlord generally cannot demand extra payments, unless the delay was not their fault.
• Deadline for you. You have 12 months after receiving the statement to raise objections.
• Checking the statement. You may ask to inspect the underlying invoices (Belegeinsicht). Tenant associations and Berlin's district tenant advice services can help you check a statement.

• Deposit (Kaution, Mietsicherheit). Security for the landlord. It may be at most three months' net cold rent. If it is paid in cash, you may pay it in three equal monthly instalments, the first at the start of the tenancy. The landlord must keep it separate from their own money, invested at the usual interest rate for savings with three months' notice, and the interest belongs to you. A contract clause that disadvantages you on these points is invalid.
• Guarantee (Bürgschaft). A third person, such as a parent, promises to pay if you do not. If a landlord demands a guarantee in addition to a cash deposit, the total security may not exceed three months' net cold rent, unless you offered the guarantee voluntarily.
• Agent's fee (Provision, Maklercourtage). Under the "orderer pays" principle (Bestellerprinzip), in force since 1 June 2015, the tenant only pays the agent if the tenant commissioned the agent in text form and the agent then found the flat exclusively for that tenant. The fee is capped at two months' net cold rent plus VAT. In most cases the landlord commissions the agent and therefore pays.
• Takeover payment (Ablöse, Abstand). Money asked for furniture or fittings left by the previous tenant or landlord. A price that is strikingly out of proportion to the value is invalid, and a payment just for the previous tenant moving out is void (proven moving costs excepted).

• Unlimited lease (unbefristeter Mietvertrag). The standard in Germany. It runs until one side gives notice, and the landlord needs a legally recognised reason to end it.
• Fixed-term lease (befristeter Mietvertrag, Zeitmietvertrag). Only valid if, at signing, the landlord states in writing one of the legal reasons: they want to live there themselves or let family members do so, they plan major building work, or the flat is for an employee. Without a valid written reason, the lease counts as unlimited. Leases for temporary use only, for example a short furnished stay, follow different rules and offer fewer protections.
• Waiver of notice (Kündigungsverzicht). A clause in an unlimited lease saying neither side may give ordinary notice for a period. In standard contract terms it may last at most four years.
• Stepped rent (Staffelmiete). The contract fixes future rent increases in advance as euro amounts. Each step must stay unchanged for at least one year, and other rent increases (to the local comparative rent or after modernisation) are excluded during the stepped period. The tenant's right to give notice may be excluded for at most four years. In areas with a rent cap, each step is checked against the cap separately.
• Index rent (Indexmiete). The rent follows the consumer price index published by the Federal Statistical Office. The rent must stay unchanged for at least a year between adjustments, the landlord must request each change in text form, and the new rent applies from the start of the month after next. Increases to the local comparative rent are excluded. The rent cap only applies to the starting rent. A federal reform proposal published in 2026 would limit index increases in tight markets, but it was still a draft when this guide was checked.

• Landlord and property management (Vermieter, Hausverwaltung). The landlord is your contract partner. Many landlords use a property management company for day-to-day matters such as repairs and operating cost statements.
• Main tenant (Hauptmieter). The person, or people, who signed the lease with the landlord.
• Subletting (Untermiete, Untervermietung). The main tenant lets all or part of the flat to someone else, the subtenant (Untermieter). This needs the landlord's permission. A tenant who later develops a legitimate interest in subletting part of the flat can usually request permission, and the landlord may ask for a reasonable rent increase in return. If the main tenancy ends, the subtenant has to leave too. A short fixed-period sublet is often called Zwischenmiete.
• Shared flat (Wohngemeinschaft, WG). People who are not a family sharing one flat. Either one or more main tenants sublet rooms to the others, or all flatmates sign the lease together. Being on the lease gives you more security but also makes you jointly responsible.
• Furnished room in the landlord's own flat. A special case with fewer protections: the rent cap and most rules on notice do not apply, and notice can be given by the 15th of a month to the end of that month.

• Rental contract (Mietvertrag). Can legally be concluded orally, but always ask for a written contract and keep all annexes, such as house rules (Hausordnung).
• Tenant self-disclosure (Mieterselbstauskunft). A form landlords use to collect information from applicants. Data protection law limits what they may ask; see rental application documents.
• Energy performance certificate (Energieausweis). Shows the building's energy efficiency. The landlord or agent must show it to you at the viewing at the latest.
• Handover record (Übergabeprotokoll). A written record of the flat's condition, meter readings and keys when you move in and out. It is not legally required, but it is your best evidence in later disputes about damage and the deposit.
• Move-in confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung). The landlord's confirmation that you moved in. You need it to register your address within two weeks; see landlord confirmation.
• Housing entitlement certificate (Wohnberechtigungsschein, WBS). Needed for subsidised social housing; see WBS and social housing in Berlin.

• Local comparative rent (ortsübliche Vergleichsmiete). The usual rent for comparable flats in the same area, based on rents agreed or changed in the last six years. It is the benchmark for rent increases and for the rent cap.
• Rent index (Mietspiegel). A table of local comparative rents by size, age, equipment and location. A qualified rent index (qualifizierter Mietspiegel) is drawn up using recognised scientific methods and is presumed by courts to be correct. Berlin's current one is the Berliner Mietspiegel 2026, published on 28 May 2026 and based on rents as of 1 September 2025. It covers non-subsidised flats in apartment buildings completed by 31 December 2024.
• Rent cap for new leases (Mietpreisbremse). In areas designated by a state government, the net cold rent at the start of a new lease may generally be at most 10% above the local comparative rent. Exceptions include flats first used and let after 1 October 2014, the first letting after comprehensive modernisation, and cases where the previous tenant already paid more. Federal law allows these designations until 31 December 2029, and Berlin has designated the whole city until that date. See tenant rights in Berlin.
• Cap on rent increases (Kappungsgrenze). Increases up to the local comparative rent are limited to 20% within three years, or 15% in areas designated by the state. Berlin applies the 15% cap citywide.
• Modernisation increase (Modernisierungsumlage). After certain modernisation work, the landlord may raise the annual rent by 8% of the costs, with absolute caps per square metre.
• Notice period (Kündigungsfrist). Tenants in ordinary unlimited leases can give notice with about three months' notice, in writing with a handwritten signature. The landlord's notice periods are longer after five and eight years.