Free rental agreement template

How to create your rental agreement

1. Pick the type of agreement. CIRO switches on the matching clauses, for a fixed term for example the reason required by § 575 BGB.
2. Answer the questions about landlord, tenant, flat, rent, deposit and service charges. If you would rather talk than fill in fields, Denise asks you the same questions in the chat.
3. Check the preview. Every answer is highlighted where it appears in the contract; anything still open shows as a placeholder.
4. Download the finished agreement as a PDF, print it twice and both of you sign it.

What to settle before the agreement

Before you draw up the rental agreement, the choice of tenant and the rent should be settled. The template takes over your details, but it does not check whether the applicant can pay or whether your rent is allowed in an area with a rent cap. There are separate tools for that.

With the tenant selection checklist you only ask what you may ask. If you are letting for the first time, the first letting checklist takes you through land register, insurance and rent account.

What goes into a rental agreement

A rental agreement is valid as soon as both sides agree on the property, the rent and the start date. To avoid disputes later, a good agreement covers much more. The template asks for these points:

• landlord and tenant with name and address, and with several tenants everyone who signs
• the flat with address, position in the building, floor area and rooms, plus cellar, parking space or garden for shared use
• start date and, if needed, a fixed term or a waiver of termination
• net base rent, advance payment for service charges and the day the rent is due
• the deposit and how it is paid
• cosmetic repairs, minor repairs, pets and subletting
• the attachments, such as house rules, handover report, data protection notice and energy certificate

Types of agreement at a glance

• Open-ended agreement: the standard case. You can only give notice with a legitimate interest; your tenant can leave with three months' notice. The notice period calculator works out the dates.
• Fixed-term agreement: only with a reason under § 575 BGB, for example personal use or planned renovation. You have to state the reason in writing when you sign.
• Furnished flat: with an inventory list attached and a separate surcharge for the furniture.
• Flat share or several tenants: everyone who signs is jointly liable for the full rent.
• Graduated rent under § 557a BGB: the increases are written into the agreement, each step lasting at least a year.
• Index-linked rent under § 557b BGB: the rent follows the consumer price index. The index rent calculator shows what an adjustment brings.
• Garage or parking space: a separate agreement outside residential tenancy law, with shorter notice periods and optional VAT.

Fixed term and waiver of termination

You may only let a flat for a fixed term if one of the reasons in § 575 BGB applies: you want to use it yourself or for family afterwards, you plan to demolish or rebuild it in a way the tenancy would stand in the way of, or you need it for an employee. If the agreement does not state the reason, it counts as open-ended.

If you simply want a minimum term, a waiver of termination is the better tool. Both sides give up ordinary notice for a set period. More than four years does not stand up in court; the template warns you if your entry goes beyond that.

Rent, service charges and deposit

Your tenant only pays service charges if the agreement passes them on. The template refers to the German service charge ordinance and agrees a monthly advance payment that you settle once a year. The advance payment calculator suggests a suitable amount.

The deposit may be at most three months' net base rent (§ 551 BGB), and your tenant may pay it in three monthly instalments. The template works out the limit from your rent. If the flat lies in an area with a rent cap, the rent for a new tenancy may be at most ten percent above the local comparative rent. The template shows a note if that probably applies to your address; you can check it in detail with the rent cap calculator.

Clauses that do not hold up in court

A pre-drafted rental agreement counts as standard terms, and German courts review it strictly. An invalid clause drops out entirely and the statutory rule applies instead. Many old templates contain these mistakes; this template avoids them:

• cosmetic repairs on a fixed schedule, such as "kitchen and bathroom every three years"
• cosmetic repairs for a flat handed over unrenovated, without fair compensation
• pro-rata clauses that make the tenant pay towards future renovations when moving out
• minor repairs without a cap per repair and per year (the template sets €120 per repair and at most 6% of the annual net rent)
• a blanket ban on dogs and cats
• a waiver of termination for more than four years

After signing

1. Hand over the flat with a handover report: meter readings, keys and defects, signed by both of you. The flat handover checklist shows what to think of.
2. Give your tenant the landlord's confirmation of residence (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung) within two weeks. They need it to register their new address.
3. Keep the deposit separate from your own money, for example in a rental deposit account. The rental deposit calculator works out the maximum and the instalments.
4. Keep the agreement, the report and the energy certificate safe. You will need them for every rent increase and when the tenant moves out.