If you moved to Berlin from another European country, then you probably already know how many protections renters have here. My German friends hate it when I go on about how awful the US is – especially the low-level injustice and exploitative chicanery – but as a renter, you have essentially no rights in the US. In the land of the free, you’re free to go find another place to live.
And if you have an eviction on your credit record, you’re free to go live in the encampment under one of the freeways. It can be really grim for regular, working-class folks. A landlord can give you 90 days’ notice for undocumented noise complaints, or they can just raise the rent whenever they want – and often do, just to be on the safe side.
Now, in Berlin, landlords can use loopholes to mess with you. You can get “eigenbedarft” where the landlord basically says they want to move into the property themselves and you’ve got to find something else. But it’s hard to just raise the rent or throw you out in 90 days. If a landlord wants to evict you, it can take them up to a year to do it.
But what do we have in Berlin that you won’t find back in Seattle or Tacoma? Rental protection collectives, or “Mieterschutzbund”. There are several in the city to choose from; the one I’m a member of costs a little over €80 a year. They are great for two things: access to lawyers for advice and representation, and legal insurance.
When something goes south with your landlord, you’re not alone. You can make an appointment with a lawyer, sign whatever paperwork applies, and get some advice. If action needs to be taken, the lawyer will write a letter for you on their stationery. This is especially important for the non-German-speaking parts of the city. We tend to find ourselves in shady situations where people exploit our lack of Berlin street smarts.
“I think I have just the thing for you”
I got my first apartment on October 1st, 2012. I had to find something fast, and that was still possible back in those days. I ran into a ton of scams; I actually had one guy asking me to hand over money for an apartment, sight-unseen. Eventually, I got an appointment to see a WG (Wohngemeinschaft) over in Friedrichshain. It was a dark hole, and the potential roommate wasn’t even there.
I told the guy showing the place that this was certainly not what I was looking for. I didn’t mind the idea of a WG; I thought it might help me with my German. But this place was a bit too much. The guy showing me the apartment was a really tall Englishman; let’s call him Sam. He looked at me and said, “I think I have just the thing for you. Let’s meet at this address and I’ll show you a furnished place. Just you. No roommates.”
We met up in Mitte, and he took me to a ground-floor apartment in the back courtyard. It got very little light from outside. There was no internet and the TV didn’t work. But there was a bed, a fridge, and a washing machine; there may have been bars over the windows, but there was a couch, and it was Altbau. He wanted €680 per month, utilities included. I thought, “I’ve got nothing else going, and I don’t even know if this Berlin experiment is going to work. At least the furniture is taken care of and I have a place.”
I took it. And what was supposed to be temporary lasted just over three years. If you’re curious and don’t already know how this scam works, let me lay it down. Sam is renting this apartment for maybe €400. He’s taking advantage of the fact that foreigners tend not to know what rent costs in Berlin.
My apartment in Seattle before I came to Berlin cost about $800 and it was much smaller than this apartment in Mitte. €680,00 doesn’t seem like much money, and it means that Sammy boy here gets to make €280 a month for doing nothing. If he’s got a small portfolio of these places, he’s making a shiny penny in what the kids today call “passive income.” It’s nice work – if you can get it.
“You have every right to stay”
The issue starts in November 2015. Someone keeps taking my name off the mailbox. One afternoon I catch them doing it and confront them. Sam is the main renter, and his contract explicitly says that he can’t sublet, which is exactly what he’s using the property for. The actual property manager is mad at him, and, just as a cherry on top, he hasn’t been paying the rent for a few months.
The property rental place wants to terminate his contract. I ask around for advice, and the advice is, “Get thee to the Mieterschutzbund!” I join up and get the legal insurance. When it comes to legal insurance, it’s important to have it in place six months before you actually need it. I got an appointment with the lawyer, and he looked through my contract.
“As long as you’re paying rent, the gentleman you signed this contract with can’t terminate it without reason. And he better have a good one!”
Then Sammy tried to terminate the contract. I went back to the lawyer, showing him the email I had received. The reaction, after chuckling, was, “This is not legally binding in any way. I can write whatever I want on a piece of paper. Doesn’t mean it will hold in court. There’s nothing this person can do. You have every right to stay.”
Find a Mieterschutzbund and join today
Now, there’s being right, and there’s being smart. I did not want to get embroiled in some legal fight with a dude who has a key to my apartment. I decided to get out as quickly as I could, and, in January of 2016, I found a new place. The new apartment was also a scam, but at least I was the main renter on the lease, and it was a real lease. It was also a big step up from Erdgeschoss, Hinterhof… I had to go back to the Mieterschutzbund and have some more letters sent to Sammy boy to get my deposit back. But that worked out.
So, the moral of this story is: go find a Mieterschutzbund and join today. Do it before you’re in a tricky pickle. And when a landlord starts pulling shenanigans, you’ll know where to go to get help. This city is not as bleak and lonely as it looks, and there are places to get the legal advice you need as a newcomer. Learning how to Berlin is all about finding the places and resources that will lend you a hand when things go sideways.
