German for Apartment Viewings: Questions About Rent, Deposit, and Repairs

Bring six German question frames: total rent, included costs, deposit, visible defects, repairs, and next steps.

Apartment viewings are weird little speed dates with plumbing 😄. You’re deciding whether you could live there while doing rent math, staring at a suspicious corner, and trying to remember the German for “deposit.” Skip the giant glossary. Use a short script: look → ask → clarify → note.

Your four stops are simple: price → deposit → condition/repairs → next step.

Start with the money: what do I actually pay each month?

The vocabulary you’ll see most often is:

• die Kaltmiete — the base rent before operating costs
• die Nebenkosten — additional operating/service costs
• die Warmmiete — rent including specified operating costs; always ask exactly what is included
• die Heizkosten — heating costs

The easiest opening question is:

Wie hoch ist die Warmmiete?
How much is the total monthly rent?

Then make the fuzzy part less fuzzy:

• Was ist in der Warmmiete enthalten? — What is included in the warm rent?
• Sind die Heizkosten in den Nebenkosten enthalten? — Are heating costs included in the additional costs?
• Welche Kosten kommen noch dazu? — What other costs are added?

That last question is gold. A number is only useful if you know whether it is the number you actually pay.

A useful word-choice distinction: Wie viel kostet…? vs Wie hoch ist…?

Wie viel kostet die Wohnung? is grammatically valid, but it can sound like you are asking the price of the apartment itself rather than the monthly rent.

If you mean the rent, make the noun explicit: Wie hoch ist die Miete? or Wie hoch ist die Warmmiete?

The listener then knows you are asking for the rental amount, not trying to buy the building before the viewing is over.

Ask about the deposit before your brain gets distracted by the balcony

The deposit is die Kaution or more specifically die Mietkaution.

• Wie hoch ist die Kaution? — How much is the deposit?
• Wann muss die Kaution bezahlt werden? — When does the deposit have to be paid?
• Kann die Kaution in Raten bezahlt werden? — Can the deposit be paid in installments?

Useful legal context, not a substitute for reading your contract: under §551 of the German Civil Code, a qualifying residential security deposit may not exceed three months of the rent excluding operating-cost lump sums or advances, and a cash deposit may be paid in three equal monthly installments.

So if someone gives you a deposit number, do not just nod because you successfully understood the German. Write the number down and compare it with the rent basis in the contract.

Now look at the flat like a future tenant, not a delighted tourist

A visible problem is commonly ein Mangel or ein Schaden, depending on what exactly is wrong. A repair is eine Reparatur.

• Was ist hier passiert? — What happened here?
• Ist dieser Schaden bekannt? — Is this damage known?
• Wird das vor dem Einzug repariert? — Will this be repaired before move-in?
• Wer kümmert sich um die Reparatur? — Who takes care of the repair?
• Wann soll das repariert werden? — When is this supposed to be repaired?

German Civil Code §535 sets a general duty for the landlord to provide and maintain the rented property in a condition suitable for contractual use. The exact legal consequences of a defect depend on the facts, so at a viewing your job is simpler: notice it, ask about it, and note what you were told.

Don’t say less just because you’re nervous

The short versions are not all “bad German.” Sometimes clipped speech is exactly what comes out under pressure, and people may understand it. The full versions simply give you more control over the meaning.

Close the viewing with one boring question that saves future confusion

• Wie geht es jetzt weiter? — What happens next?
• Welche Unterlagen brauchen Sie von mir? — Which documents do you need from me?
• Bis wann brauchen Sie die Unterlagen? — By when do you need the documents?
• Wann bekomme ich eine Rückmeldung? — When will I hear back?

You have now covered the stuff that tends to become painfully important later: money, deposit, condition, repairs, and next step.

Viewing role-play: ask before you reveal the model

Say the German question out loud first. Then open the model answer.

The listing shows a Kaltmiete, but you want to know the real monthly total

The agent gives you a deposit amount. You want to confirm the payment timing

You notice a window that does not close properly

You like the apartment and want to know what the landlord needs from you

Your 60-second apartment-viewing script

Before your next viewing, say these aloud with the real numbers or issue from the listing.

If one long word still trips you up, practise that one instead of memorizing twenty more housing nouns. FunFluen can help you continue language practice and use pronunciation support as a learning aid. Keep practising the German you actually need with FunFluen.

Look → ask → clarify → note

The flat can be gorgeous. The balcony can be dangerously charming. You still need the numbers and the repair answers.

At the viewing, keep the loop tiny: look at what matters, ask one precise question, clarify anything vague, and write down the answer.

If you want a broader method for turning real-life situations into study material, see more ways to turn real-life language into practice.

Official sources for the legal context

• German Civil Code §551 — limitation and payment of security deposits.
• German Civil Code §535 — principal duties in a lease.
• Official English translation of the German Civil Code — including defect-notification rules.