ROUTE
Subletting and Shared Flats
The § 553 permission right, the written contract, the registration confirmation for your subtenant — and the traps you answer for.
✓ Checked: 18/07/2026
Subletting a room or a flat is possible in Germany, but only with the landlord’s permission. In many cases the law gives you not a request but a right: where a legitimate interest arises, the landlord must permit subletting part of the flat and may refuse only for weighty reasons.
› More about this route
This two-step route covers both sides: how to obtain permission and what you are entitled to, and how to structure the sublet agreement without creating problems for yourself.
The thing most easily forgotten: towards the landlord, you are liable for everything. Noise, damage and your subtenant’s arrears are your responsibility rather than theirs — and the sublet agreement exists precisely so you can pass those claims on.
WHERE PEOPLE MOST OFTEN LOSE MONEY AND TIME
- Subletting without permission. That gives the landlord grounds for a warning and, if you persist, for terminating the main tenancy.
- Agreeing verbally. Without a written agreement you can neither enforce payment nor get the subtenant out within a reasonable time.
- Forgetting the confirmation for registration. Your subtenant must register, and as the main tenant you are the one who issues that confirmation.
- Assuming the subtenant answers for themselves. Towards the landlord you are liable, including for damage and breaches of house rules.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ROUTE
Must the landlord permit subletting?▾
Often yes. The law gives tenants a right to permission for subletting part of the flat where a legitimate interest arises after the contract was concluded. Refusal is possible only for weighty reasons, such as overcrowding.
What if I want to sublet the whole flat?▾
That is a different situation: the right concerns part of the flat. Handing over the entire flat requires separate consent, which the landlord is under no obligation to give.
Do I need a written sublet agreement?▾
Emphatically yes. Without one there is no fixed payment, term or basis for ending it. A verbal understanding becomes a problem exactly when the subtenant stops paying or refuses to leave.
Who issues the registration confirmation to the subtenant?▾
You, as main tenant, act as the accommodation provider and issue it. Without it your subtenant cannot register their address, and registration is compulsory.