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RENTING

The most expensive (and cheapest) cities in Germany to rent a room

For those looking to find a room in a flatshare in Germany, it can be helpful to know which cities have higher prices, and where it's more affordable.

Published: 21 June 2022 16:29 CEST
An aerial view of flats in Munich.
An aerial view of flats in Munich. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sina Schuldt

Due to rising demand and low supplies, the cost of renting a flat in some German cities has risen dramatically in recent years. 

For that reason, many people decide to enter into a flatshare – known as a Wohngemeinschaft or WG in Germany. Lots of students, trainees on apprenticeships and people who are not staying in Germany for a long time may also decide to go down the WG route. 

In view of the difficult housing market in Germany right now, however, renting a room can still be pricey depending on where it is. 

Housing market analyst Empirica carried out research on the cost of renting a room ahead of the university summer semester in Germany which began in April. 

Using several thousand rental advertisements for shared flats, they looked at warm rents (the base rent as well as additional costs) for an unfurnished room between 10 and 30 square metres. 

READ ALSO: Six confusing things about renting a flat in Germany 

The group found that shared flats were 22 percent more expensive in 2022 than in the 2017 summer semester.

“In the university locations as a whole, the standard price for the current semester is €421 and thus 22 percent higher than in the summer semester 2017 – or €19 higher than in the summer semester 2021,” said the market analyst.

Colourful flats in Berlin.

Colourful flats in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Wolfgang Kumm

Where do rooms cost the most – and the least?

The standard price for an unfurnished room in a shared flat is highest in Munich – at €650 per month. It’s perhaps unsurprising since the Bavarian capital is known as one of the most expensive places to rent a home in Germany – and even Europe. A recent ranking on the cost of living by ECA placed the German cities of Munich (16th) and Frankfurt (19th) in the top 20 most expensive cities in Europe. 

Munich is followed by Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berlin where a WG room will set you back about €500 per month, according to the study. And in Cologne, renters there face paying around €490 per month in rent to live in a shared flat. 

READ ALSO: Revealed – how much it costs to rent a room in a German university town 

The most affordable offers for a WG room are currently in Magdeburg (Saxony-Anhalt) where it costs €259 per month to stay in a flatshare and Halle where it’s €260 per month.

The graph by Statista below shows the most expensive and most affordable cities this year, according to the study. 

Infografik: Wo WG-Mieten besonders teuer/günstig sind | Statista

Source: Statista

Other more affordable cities are Erfurt in Thuringia (€300 per month), Paderborn in North Rhine-Westphalia (€305) and Leipzig in Saxony (€320).

Vocabulary

Cheap/affordable – günstig

More affordable price – günstigerer Preis 

More expensive – teurer 

Unfurnished – unmöbliert 

Housing market – (der) Wohnungsmarkt 

We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

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RENTING

What to know about changes to cable TV fees in Germany this July

Millions of people renting an apartment in Germany will have received letters in recent months about a significant change to cable TV connections happening from July. Do you have to take action?

Published: 21 June 2024 16:42 CEST
What to know about changes to cable TV fees in Germany this July

Up to now, many tenants in Germany have been paying cable TV connection fees as part of their Nebenkosten – additional costs – in their rental contract. 

That’s due to a rule called the ancillary cost privilege (Nebenkostenprivileg) dating back to the 1980s which meant landlords in Germany could set up agreements with telecom companies to supply cable network to entire buildings and charge their tenants. 

It typically costs tenants around €5-€9 per month, depending on the contract. 

The law was abolished as part of an amendment to the Telecommunications Act (TKG) and came into force on December 1st, 2021. However, the transition period lasts until June 30th 2024. From July 1st, a new system applies where landlords will no longer be in charge of these contracts and fees. 

READ ALSO: The five weirdest and best German TV shows for improving your German 

Do I have to take action?

If you’re affected, you should have received notice from your landlord about the change. You may also have been contacted by service providers urging you to set up an individual contract to avoid losing your cable TV connection. 

If you want to continue having access to cable TV in your home, you might have to arrange a new contract – but remember that you can shop around to do so, you don’t have to stick with your current provider. 

Will the costs change?

A downside of this change is that your cable costs are likely to go up. An individual contract for cable TV could be a few euros more or even double what tenants currently pay (depending on their current deal with the landlord). 

That’s because landlords are generally able to negotiate better deals for a full building or set of apartments as part of ‘multi-user’ contracts.

READ ALSO: Why tenants in Germany could face higher costs for cable TV this year

However, consumer rights groups expect prices to fall in the long term due to more competition. 

Do I have to pay this new fee?

There’s no obligation. If you want to continue accessing cable TV channels, you can opt for alternatives such as DVB-T2 HD, which offers around 40 channels in high definition with an indoor or rooftop aerial, or satellite television. 

Meanwhile, experts say that if you only use your cable connection for broadband Internet and/or the telephone, you can stick with the contract. If the TV signal is not used, the provider should install a corresponding filter box on the connection. 

Around one in five households in Germany uses the Internet to stream TV rather than using a cable or satellite connection – and this figure has doubled in the past five years. 

It is also possible to take out a contract for cable TV and another for Internet and telephone with a different provider. 

If you have any queries, you should contact a service provider or consumer rights group for advice as soon as possible to look at your options. 

Be wary of salespeople trying to strike a quick deal

The consumer advice centre is warning against so-called media consultants visiting people at home or calling because they may at times put consumers under pressure to sign cable contracts.

Consumer protection organisations advise consumers taken by surprise not to act too hastily. 

If you have any doubts, take some time to think about your options and only conclude contracts after you’ve made a firm decision. 

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