What is a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung anyway?
Quite simply put, a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung is a legal form that needs to be signed, once you’ve found an apartment, by the landlord and/or the owner of the building. If you are the owner of the building, you can fill this document out on your own (note: you may also be asked for the Kaufvertrag/proof of sale). This form proves that you have legal permission to live at the mentioned address. You will need to bring this form with you to your registration appointment (Anmeldung Termin).
How do I get a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung?
While the landlord should provide you with this signed document when you sign the rental contract, this isn’t always the case. Alternatively, you can also print off the form from your city’s website (Google “Wohnungsgeberbestätigung + your city name” to find the contract) and ask your landlord to sign it.
Here are some quick links for a few of the major cities: Düsseldorf, Cologne, Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg
Landlords are legally required to sign the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung for any tenant living in their building. In larger cities, it is common to run into the issue that the landlord or main tenant (Hauptmieter) refuses to sign the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung. While this is not legal, these issues tend to arise when renting a shared apartment (WG/Wohngemeinschaft) or “under the table“. Usually, this issue arises when the main tenant has actually not received permission from the landlord to rent out a room in their apartment or that the landlord has an issue with too many people being registered at the address (which could spark a red flag for the authorities).
This is why you are strongly advised to rent an accommodation that agrees to provide you with a proper rental contract.
NOTE: A Wohnungsgeberbestätigung will need to be re-submitted every time you change addresses. You will also need to deregister and re-register at your local registration office (Burgerbüro, Einwohnermeldeamt, or Bürgeramt) or for small towns, town halls (Rathaus) when moving to a new address.
