The housing market has its own language and it is also full of pitfalls. Here are some useful tips that you should bear in mind when looking for accommodation.
Example of a flat advert
„From now on 2 ZDB, im ZFH, DG, 52 m², Lam., Kochn., Du, G-WC, Balk., NSH, ruh. Haus, WBS, KM 220 € + HK 40 € + NK 70 €, 2 MM K, 0202-123 456“
Costs / rent / heating costs / ancillary costs
The most important thing is, of course, the costs that you have to pay each month after renting. A distinction is made between cold rent ('Kaltmiete' = KM) and warm rent ('Warmmiete' = WM). No heating costs are calculated for the cold rent, but they are for the warm rent. WM is usually offered if there is no separate heat meter due to the type of construction; your proportionate costs are then presumably calculated using the living space (total heating costs of the house / all square metres of all flats x your living space = heating costs). This is a disadvantage if you are energy-conscious when it comes to heating, but your flatmates are not - you pay a share of every energy wastage by others!
HK = 'Heizkosten' (heating costs), these are sometimes shown separately. The average consumption of the previous year is usually used here. This means that you pay an estimated flat rate for 12 months, which is settled at the end of the year against the actual consumption. If possible, insist on seeing the previous year's bill!
NK = 'Nebenkosten' (ancillary costs), this includes costs for e.g. heating (if not shown separately, see HK), water, waste water, general electricity, lift, costs for caretaker etc. The service charges usually do not (!) include the costs for electricity! These must always be calculated separately!
Conclusion: Always calculate half of the basic rent (KM) as ancillary costs - no matter what the advert says! If possible, ask the previous tenants and ask to see their statements! Make sure you have a detailed list of service charges; do not accept a flat rate without an itemised list!
Rent calculation in student residences
The Studentenwerke calculate rents differently than the free housing market. Studentenwerke have the state mandate to offer students accommodation at actual cost price.
As student residences are often built with state subsidies, rents are usually lower than on the free housing market!
So that you have full cost control, we offer you the flats at an ultra-all-inclusive rent:
All consumption and ancillary costs are charged as a flat-rate rent; in Wuppertal, TV and internet connection are also included in the rent!
You will only have to pay for food and possibly telephone costs - nothing more!
A private landlord, on the other hand, likes to be on the safe side and often calculates a certain ‘profit’ into the rent. The local rent index serves as a guideline for what is permitted.
2 ZDB
This describes the room layout of a flat. The ‘2’ stands for the number of rooms (Zimmer), whereby the kitchen (Küche), hallway (Diele) and bathroom (Bad) are not counted.
Our example therefore stands for ‘2 rooms (Z), 1 hallway (D), 1 bathroom (B)’. Here you should ask yourself where the cooking facilities are! ‘Kochnische’ means that a small kitchenette is installed in one of the two rooms; it will not be possible to separate the living and dining areas in our example flat.
Further examples:
2 Zi. KDB = 2 Zimmer + Küche + Diele + Bad
2 Zi. KB, EBK = 2 Zimmer + Bad, one room has a fitted kitchen (EBK = Einbauküche)
im ZFH
This describes the type of house. Possible variants are:
EFH = Einfamilienhaus (One-family house) (1 house for 1 tenant, detached, mostly with garden area)
ZFH = Zweifamilienhaus (Two-family house) (1 house with 2 separate entrances and 2 separate flats, but this one is detached, mostly with garden area)
DHH = Doppelhaushälfte (Semi-detached house) (2 houses, mostly of symmetrical design, these are detached, mostly with garden area)
If nothing is mentioned, these are apartment blocks with a central staircase from which the individual flats lead off.
There can be between 3, usually 4-8, and up to 20 flats - the latter would then probably be a tower block.
DG
This indicates the position of the flat in the house. There are (from bottom to top):
KG = Kellergeschoss (basement floor)
EG = Erdgeschoss (ground floor)
1., 2., … OG = 1. or 2. Obergeschoss (upper floor)
DG = Dachgeschoss (top/attic floor)
52 m²
This refers to the available living space for which the rent is calculated.
You should note two special features here:
DG: Attic flats often have sloping ceilings.
The areas in which the sloping roof is less than 1.5 metres above the floor may only be counted as half. For example, an attic flat with sloping ceilings may have 52 m² of rental space, but the floor area may be several square metres larger!
Balk. = Balkon: If the flat has a balcony or terrace, half the area may be added to the living space - so a 52 m² flat with a balcony may have an 8 m² balcony, half (i.e. 4 m²) is added to the living space, so that the flat is only 48 m² inside!
Lam. = Laminat
This refers to unchangeable floor coverings, in this case ‘laminate’.
If you cannot find any indication, the floor can also be completely bare: a floor covering is not the landlord's obligation!
Kochn., EBK
This refers to the available cooking facilities.
A kitchenette means that there is usually a small kitchenette in a corner of one of the rooms. This means that you cannot close the door behind you while cooking and keep cooking odours out of the living room.
EBK
means that a fitted kitchen is installed. These are usually higher-quality fixtures and fittings, which may also be reflected in the rental price, i.e. the rent per square metre seems relatively high, but you get value for money.
2 Zi KDB means that the flat has 2 rooms and an additional cooking area. This may be very small.
2 Zi DB, WoKü = Wohnküche (kitchen-living room) means that there is a separate kitchen room, but it is large enough to accommodate a dining table. The same flat could also be described as „3 Zi DB, Kochn.“ - This depends on how large the kitchen worktop is.
Du = Dusche (shower)
This describes the bathroom facilities. ‘Du’ here means “bathroom with shower”, so you will only find a shower, not a bathtub.
G-WC
In addition to the bathroom, there is also a smaller ‘guest WC’, i.e. a second toilet and usually a small wash hand basin.
NSH
This describes the type of heating in the flat, here „Nachtspeicherheizung“ (Night storage heating). This heating is powered by electricity, which you usually have to pay yourself in addition to the rent and service charges - be careful!
ruh. Haus
These are free, but mostly important notes.
Read them very carefully!
ruhiges Haus = (quiet house) means that the other residents of the house are sensitive to loud noises, e.g. from children, music, night-time visitors, etc.
Another example is
ruh. Randlage = flat on the quiet outskirts of the city, i.e. far from the centre
WBS
A ‘Wohnberechtigungsschein’ is required to rent this flat.
This is issued to households with a lower income, i.e. usually also to students. You can apply for a WBS at...
Stadt Wuppertal Meldewesen, Wohnen
2 MM K = Monatsmieten Kaution
This refers to the deposit to be paid by you, in this example ‘2 months’ rent’.
A deposit must be paid at the start of the tenancy; payment in instalments over up to 3 months is also possible. A security deposit is a guarantee for the flat owner against damage.
If you return your flat without any defects or damage when you move out, you will receive your deposit back in full! We recommend carrying out a preliminary inspection approx. 1 month before the end of the tenancy so that it can be determined at an early stage whether there is any damage for which part of the deposit must be retained or not.
This also speeds up the deposit settlement, i.e. the period between the end of the tenancy and the repayment of the deposit - which can be up to 3 months!
