Rent apartments privately in Berlin

Rental apartments account for more than 75 percent of properties on offer in Berlin

Compared to many other German cities, Berlin has a very large rental market. Over 75 percent of the available housing falls into the rental apartment category. Around 40 percent of apartments are owned by private owners or owners' associations. Municipal companies, cooperatives or private companies offer the rest.

Anyone looking for a suitable apartment in the capital can hope for a large supply on the one hand, but on the other hand there is a lot of competition for nice units. This is also true because the city is suffering from an acute housing shortage. Due to a strong influx, there are too many people in Berlin looking for a place to live. As rents are rising sharply at the same time, the city has taken measures to keep rental apartments affordable. However, the effects are small, as this does little to alleviate the housing shortage. This makes it more difficult for those looking to find suitable rental accommodation.

Finding suitable offers: Exclusive old building, affordable prefabricated building or normal apartment building?

As large as the selection in Berlin is, the offers are just as varied. There are expensive loft apartments, exclusively refurbished old buildings such as those in Prenzlauer Berg and Kreuzberg, and affordable prefabricated housing estates in the east of the city. There are also many normal apartment buildings with several residential units that are rented out. The same applies to the size and number of rooms: the one-room apartment or two-room apartment is just as common as offers with three rooms, four rooms or even more space.

However, it is also clear that the largest city in Germany is expensive, especially for apartments for rent in the city center and on the waterfront. If Berlin is not necessarily the number one destination for your own apartment, there are many interesting and well-connected places in the surrounding area. This means that if you want to live a little further out, you can save money.

Even in Berlin, private offers are often cheaper

The apartment of your dreams may also be a little cheaper if you focus on private listings that do not involve a real estate agent. This is because there is no estate agent's fee for the landlord, which means that rents are often somewhat lower. The rent index for Berlin from ohne-makler provides a good indication of the prices that those looking for a rental apartment can expect to pay. The rents listed refer only to privately offered apartments.