Renting in Berlin
A one-bedroom flat in Berlin costs about $1,450 a month. Landlords usually ask for a deposit of 3 months of rent, and the average commute to the centre is 34 minutes.
How the search works
Berlin rewards patience. Most listings go to the first applicant who arrives with a complete folder, so bring a credit report, three payslips and a copy of your passport to the viewing rather than promising to send them later. Group viewings with thirty people on the staircase are normal; the agent collects folders at the door and calls nobody back.
Neukölln and Wedding are where new arrivals usually start, because turnover there is high and landlords are used to tenants without a local rental history. Prenzlauer Berg and Kreuzberg have almost no turnover: people who found a flat there ten years ago do not give it up. If your budget is fixed, look one ring further out along the S-Bahn, where the same money buys a second room and a quieter street.
Furnished flats on fixed terms are common and legal, but read the contract for an end date and for the word that makes the term binding. A sublet needs the written consent of the main landlord. Without it the main tenant can be given notice, and you with them. Registration at the local office is required within two weeks of moving in, and you cannot register without a confirmation signed by the landlord, so ask for it on the day you get the keys.
Heating is billed once a year. A flat in an unrenovated building with single glazing can cost a third more to keep warm than the same flat two streets away, and the advert will not say so. Ask to see last year's settlement before you sign.