German Landlord Responsibilities: Your Legal Duties (2026)

German tenancy law is famously tenant-friendly, which is another way of saying it puts clear, enforceable duties on landlords. Most are straightforward once you know them, but skipping one, a mishandled deposit, a late utility bill, a notice without a valid reason, is where landlords lose money or lose in court. This guide lays out what the law actually requires of you, from the day you hand over the keys to the day the tenancy ends.

Provide a usable flat and handle the deposit correctly

Your first duty is to provide the apartment in a condition fit for living and to keep it that way for the length of the tenancy. That means the heating works, the flat is weather-tight, and defects that make it unusable get fixed promptly. If a serious defect appears and you do not remedy it, the tenant may be entitled to reduce the rent (Mietminderung) until it is resolved. Documenting the condition at move-in with a handover protocol protects you here, because it establishes what was and was not already worn, and it becomes your reference again when the tenancy ends.

The deposit is the second duty landlords most often get wrong. The Kaution is capped at three months' cold rent, the tenant may pay it in three monthly instalments, and, crucially, you must hold it separately from your own assets in an interest-bearing account. Parking it in your private current account is not lawful, and the interest belongs to the tenant. Get this wrong and the tenant can demand the separate deposit and reclaim it with interest; if it is lost in your insolvency, you are personally liable. Setting up a dedicated deposit account at the start takes minutes and removes the risk entirely.

Repairs, maintenance and keeping the building safe

Keeping the property in good repair is the landlord's responsibility. You can shift small, everyday repairs to the tenant through a Kleinreparaturen clause, but only a valid one: it needs both a cap per individual repair and an annual ceiling, and it can only cover items the tenant directly and frequently uses, such as taps and handles. Anything structural, and any repair beyond those limits, stays with you. Cosmetic-repair (Schönheitsreparaturen) clauses that impose rigid renovation deadlines are frequently struck down, especially if the flat was not handed over freshly renovated, so a fair clause protects you better than an aggressive one.

Beyond the flat itself, you carry a duty to keep the property safe for anyone who uses it, the Verkehrssicherungspflicht. In practice that means clearing snow and ice on the pavement and paths in winter, keeping stairwells lit and free of hazards, maintaining the roof and facade so nothing falls, and servicing shared installations like the lift. If someone is injured because you neglected this, you can be liable, which is why most landlords carry building liability insurance (Haus- und Grundbesitzerhaftpflicht) and buildings insurance against fire and water damage. You can pass those premiums on as operating costs, but the duty to hold them and act on hazards is yours.

The energy certificate and the annual utility statement

When you let the flat, the figures from a valid energy certificate (Energieausweis) must appear in the listing itself and be shown to applicants at the viewing: the energy source, construction year, energy demand or consumption, and efficiency class. Advertising without them is an administrative offence and can trigger a fine, so confirm your certificate is current before you publish.

If the tenant pays a monthly advance on running costs, you must reconcile it once a year in a Nebenkostenabrechnung and deliver it within twelve months of the end of the accounting period. Miss that deadline and you generally lose the right to demand a back-payment, while any credit still has to be paid out. Only genuinely allocable operating costs from the operating-costs ordinance may be passed on; administration, maintenance, and repairs may not, and the abrechnung has to show the total costs, the allocation key, the tenant's share, and the deduction of advance payments to be valid.

Rent, notice, and the registration confirmation

You cannot raise the rent at will. During a tenancy, increases are limited to the local comparable rent and capped over time, and on a new lease the Mietpreisbremse restricts the starting rent in many areas. Ending the tenancy is equally constrained: an open-ended lease can only be terminated on a lawful ground, most often Eigenbedarf (you need the flat for yourself or close family) or a serious breach such as rent arrears of more than two months, always in writing, with the reason stated, and with a notice period that lengthens the longer the tenant has lived there. And within two weeks of move-in you must give the tenant a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung, the landlord confirmation they need to register their address at the Bürgeramt; refusing it is not lawful.

Where the duties fit together

These duties run right through the letting process rather than sitting apart from it. If you are starting out, the full sequence from pricing to handover is in the guide on how to rent out an apartment in Germany, and choosing a tenant who makes the rest easy is covered in how to find a good tenant. Doing the duties properly is not just compliance; it is what keeps a tenancy quiet and your deposit and rent disputes rare.