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Finding an Apartment

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Finding an apartment in Germany can be a bit of a challenge - especially when if you’re new to the country and the language. To help you out, we’ve summarized the most important things you need to know about the process of finding your ideal apartment ─ from things to consider before signing a rental contract to a neighborhood guide (outlining some of the Cologne districts). Please make sure to read this page thoroughly.

 

With just over a million inhabitants, Cologne is the fourth largest metropolis in Germany. Every day, there are new people coming to Cologne and the city becomes more and more international each month. We highly recommend that you start looking for an apartment as early as possible. Therefore, we advise you to please plan at least 2-3 months for your apartment search in Cologne and the surrounding area. Unlike in other countries, it is not standard in Germany to move into an apartment on the same day as the apartment viewing takes place. If you find it too difficult to find an apartment in Cologne, please also consider other cities that are nearby (below you can find a small selection of other cities that are close to Cologne and have a good connection to it by public transport). Nevertheless, in the end, it does not matter where you plan to live. Just make sure that your apartment has a good connection to public transportation if you do not plan to get a car. 

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Other Cities (beside Cologne) 

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  • Düsseldorf - Benrath (app. 20 minutes by train to Cologne Mülheim)

  • Düsseldorf - City Center (app. 30 minutes by train to Cologne Mülheim)

  • Leverkusen - Mitte (app. 13 minutes by train to Cologne Mülheim) 

  • Bergisch Gladbach (app. 20 minutes by train to Cologne Mülheim)

  • Bonn - City Center (app. 40 minutes by train to Cologne Mülheim)

  • Troisdorf - City Center (app. 40 minutes by train to Cologne Mülheim)

  • Pulheim - City Center (app. 40 minutes by train to Cologne Mülheim)

 

With the following information, we would like to give some guidance in finding suitable flats in Cologne and/or surrounding cities. In case you want to compare the costs of living between your current place of residence and your future place of residence in Germany, please feel free to take a look into "numbeo". 

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When looking for an apartment in Cologne (and surrounding cities), please have the following in mind:

 

  • When visiting a flat, the landlord or landlady could ask you to fill out a so-called "Mieterselbstauskunft". This is a document where you provide personal information (e.g. name, current address, income, etc).  

  • Before signing a rental contract, please be aware that you might need to hand in other documents to the landlord/landlady (e.g. proof of income, copy of your passport/ID card, etc.). Moreover, most landlords/landlady ask for a Schufa document. Schufa is a German company providing information about the creditworthiness of people living in Germany. If you have never lived in Germany before, your Schufa should be empty (which is good). As soon as you open a bank account, want to get a loan from the bank, get a German credit card, etc., Schufa is collecting data about your creditworthiness. The easiest and fastest way to get your Schufa for the apartment search is via the website of Immoscout 24. Unfortunately, it is available in German only (if you need help with translations, please get in touch with the Human Resources Team of Eurowings Digital). Immobilienscout24 will send your Schufa for the apartment search by email within just a few minutes.  

  • Please be aware that some German apartments are rented "bare" e.g. with no light fixtures or even the kitchen sink! Read your rental contract carefully to avoid having to wash the dishes in the bathroom by candlelight after you moved into your new apartment ;)

  • When looking for apartments on higher floors, don't be surprised if your German apartment house has no elevator/lift. So if you found your dream apartment on the 6th floor, you may change your mind after some weeks of living there as you always have to climb up the stairs after a long and overdue grocery trip. 

  • When dealing with German or European floors, remember that an American second floor is the first floor in Germany (and so on). The same applies to elevator buttons. "E" is the ground floor (in German: Erdgeschoss) or sometimes "P" (for the French word "parterre").

  • After moving into a new flat, you need to register with the local city registration office (in German: Bürgerbüro or Einwohnermeldeamt). More information on that can be found in this Onboarding website.

  • If you need anything for your flat (e.g. furniture, electronics, etc.) and don't want to spend too much money on it, it can always be useful to look on "eBay Kleinanzeigen" or kalaydo. You can find nearly everything there, second-hand and for fair prices. 

  • In Germany, every household has to pay a kind of "TV/Radio Tax" (it is a kind of broadcast fee for public TV and radio channels) in the amount of 17,50 Euro per month. The Germans also call it GEZ. More information can be found in this document. Unfortunately, the "TV/Radio Tax" is mandatory. There is no way to get rid of it (even when you do not listen to German radio stations or watch German television). 

 

Where to search for an apartment in Germany?

As in all countries, there are some popular websites for apartment search in Germany too.  Please find an overview of the most popular websites listed below. Unfortunately, not all of them are in English language, but as these websites tend to work in a similar way, hopefully, you can still find your way through.
 

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IMPORTANT: Please be informed that most of Airbnb landlords do not issue the necessary "Wohnungsgeberbestätigung" (certificate of residence) that is needed for the city registration process. In case you want to stay in an Airbnb, please make sure to double-check on this topic with the landlord/landlady BEFORE booking the Airbnb. The city registration is not possible without the certificate of residence! 

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Moreover, please note that Eurowings Digital is cooperating with "The HomeLike". They are a startup company from Cologne offering furnished business apartments. Besides their platform, they also have an Account Manager that can help with all requests coming from newcomers that join Eurowings Digital. So in case, you do not find a suitable apartment on the "The Home Like" platform, please feel free to get in touch with the Account Manager directly. The Account Manager might be able to help you find an apartment. This service is, of course, free of charge :) This is our Account Manager: 

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Name: Mr Simon Lomp   

E-Mail: simon.lomp@homelike.cc

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Moreover, please note that the booking and cancelation policies with "The Home Like" became much more flexible due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  To use the "The Home Like" website, you have to create your personal account first. For this, you open the "The Home Like" link and sign up with your private email address. Afterward, your profile is connected with the "The Home Like" account from Eurowings Digital. For most of the apartments that are listed on "The Home Like", the needed "Wohnungsgeberbestätigung" (certificate of residence) for the city registration process can be issued :) Nevertheless, please keep in mind that some apartments are not qualified for that (this should be mentioned in the corresponding ad. Please check on that before booking!)  

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Websites for long-term apartments

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Websites for temporary apartments

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Prices for apartments

You will see “Kalt” and “Warm” rent prices on German websites for the apartment search. Basically, that means cold and warm rent. 


Kaltmiete (KM) + Nebenkosten = Warmmiete (WM)
(cold rent + additional costs = total rent)

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Cold rent does not include fees such as heating, water, lights, cleaning hallways, garden, wastewater, maintenance, local taxes, etc.


Warm rent, usually, includes all the fees, but some might not be included (therefore, please read the rental contract carefully). Rarely, the warm rent includes internet and/or TV. According to research, the cost of an apartment (1 bedroom) in the city center of Cologne is an average of 830 EUR (cold rent). If you add the additional costs to the cold rent, it is very likely that you will pay around 1,000 - 1,200 EUR for an apartment (in average) per month. 

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Electricity 

Electricity is generally not included in the rent. You can subscribe with a provider online on the following websites. We recommend that you use all of the websites to find the cheapest provider.

The meter readers are owned by a local company in Cologne  ─ Stadtwerke Köln. They provide a basic tariff with one month notice period for cancellation. On these websites you can check for electricity tariffs:

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