Finding an apartment in Germany: methods, portals, and what makes up the rent
If you live in refugee accommodation or receive Jobcenter benefits, moving into your own apartment isn’t just a matter of time and money — there’s a legal side to it too. Here’s what matters: when you’re allowed to move, where to search, and what all those German rental terms actually mean.
When is it allowed to move into a private apartment?
According to Section 53 (2) Sentence 1 of the Asylum Act (AsylG), you may move into a private apartment if you have received a positive decision from the BAMF and have been recognized.
If you have not yet been recognized, private residency may be permitted by way of exception upon application to the Foreigners Office (Ausländerbehörde). The prerequisite is that you no longer require benefits under the AsylbLG — living expenses must be covered by your own income or your spouse’s. Another requirement: all persons must have a valid passport or be in the process of obtaining identification documents.
Permission is granted on the condition that living expenses can be covered independently. If this condition later stops applying (e.g. due to job loss) and you claim AsylbLG benefits again, you must move back into asylum accommodation.
Apartment search through the Jobcenter
If you receive money from the Jobcenter, you can still move into a private apartment — but it has to be affordable. There’s a rent cap and a square meter cap. These limits depend on the housing prices in your city — check with your local Jobcenter for the exact figures.
The search itself works the same way as for everyone else: look for apartments, write to landlords, view apartments, sign the lease. Once a suitable apartment is found, your case manager at the Jobcenter must confirm in writing that it can be approved — for this, the landlord first fills out an application with the apartment details.
The housing market is unfortunately often quite biased — so having native German speakers help with communication, letters to landlords, and viewings makes a real difference. Expect this to potentially be a longer process that requires patience.
Where can you look for an apartment?
Besides the specialized portals below, you can search:
- via search engines on the Internet;
- in the classifieds section of daily and weekly newspapers;
- in the official bulletins of cities and municipalities;
- on information boards in stores;
- on social media;
- through acquaintances.
You can also place your own ad describing what apartment you’re looking for — this may cost money on some portals. It’s also worth checking whether your city offers housing counseling (Wohnungsberatung) — charitable organizations like Diakonisches Werk often provide this.
Search portals
The three leading portals for apartment searching in Germany are ImmoScout24, Immonet, and Immowelt. All three offer a paid or partially-free “saved search” service — an email notification when a new matching listing appears (Immowelt: ~€14.90/month, Immonet: free for 6 months, ImmoScout24: free indefinitely).
💡 This exact routine is what @HeimlaBOT already handles — for free, with no manual setup. Through Immomio, the bot automatically finds hidden social-housing listings on ImmoScout24 and Immowelt and applies to them on its own — listings that regular search often doesn’t even surface.
Beyond those, there are other well-known sites:
- Kleinanzeigen — the apartments section of the classifieds site.
- WG-Gesucht — you can post your own free listing so landlords get a more personal sense of who you are.
- Immomio — instead of searching yourself, you receive offers directly from landlords. Many German housing cooperatives allocate apartments exclusively through Immomio.
🔑 @HeimlaBOT also works on Kleinanzeigen and WG-Gesucht: full auto-apply on WG-Gesucht, and notifications on Kleinanzeigen (the form there requires an SMS code, so you submit that application manually). As for Immomio — the actual core of the automation — we have a dedicated step-by-step guide.
The bot also supports a few more sites (Vonovia, Wohnungsbörse, Ohne-Makler) — see the full list and setup in the How to use HeimlaBOT guide.
What makes up the rent?
- Cold rent (Kaltmiete): rent per square meter of living space per month, without utilities. In some cities there’s a rent index (Mietspiegel) showing the typical local rent per square meter.
- Additional costs (Nebenkosten): heating, hot and cold water, garbage collection, caretaker fees, and so on (operating costs).
Cold rent + additional costs = warm rent (Warmmiete) — the actual total you pay each month.
Electricity, phone, and internet are paid separately.
Once a year you receive a utility bill (Nebenkostenabrechnung) showing the actual annual operating costs. You may owe extra (e.g. if you used more heating than estimated) or get money back (e.g. if you used less water).
The security deposit (Kaution) is paid separately — it’s a guarantee for the landlord, capped at 3 months’ cold rent. You get it back when you move out, provided the apartment has no damage.