Renting out an Apartment & House: What to Consider? Property, Tax & Advice

Renting a property can be a great extra income, but it can also become your main job. Landlords have many duties towards the tenant and have to take care of the property. However, if this is successful, a lot of profit can result. We will explain how you can best let your property and how to find the right tenant for you.

Let an Apartment or House – the Right Tenants and Rental Contract

How do I set the rental price correctly? How does my advertisement appear attractive? And how do I draw up a suitable and fair rental contract? A future landlord asks himself all these questions, because in order to successfully rent out a property, a lot of knowledge and experience is required. But if you follow a few simple steps, you will make the leap to a successful landlord and profit from the earnings.

The most important things:

• Landlords have many duties and tasks, including, for example, organizing the change of tenant or the annual preparation of a service charge statement for the tenant
• The rental price can be set with the help of the local rent index, but it must always be taken into account whether or not the affected region has a rent brake
• The rental contract should be fair for both tenant and landlord and regulate all important points
• When choosing the right tenant, it is not only the sympathy effect that counts, but also other important factors, such as creditworthiness
• The expose should contain all important facts about the property and convince with professional pictures
• The visit is possible both as open and closed date and depends mainly on the number of interested parties
• The apartment will only be handed over after payment of the rent deposit and the first month’s rent. At this time a protocol is made, which documents meter readings and existing damages.

The daily rental business – tasks of a landlord

If you want to be a landlord, it must be clear that a property does not maintain itself. Also the landlord has tasks and duties to maintain the tenancy. These tasks include, for example, the annual preparation of an ancillary cost statement for the tenant, the annual presentation of the economic efficiency for the tax office, the organization of a change of tenant, renovations or repairs to the property and, of course, participation in the owners’ meeting. Depending on the initial situation, a large part of the tasks can be taken over by an administrator, but the task as a landlord always involves a time consuming effort. If you want to keep it as low as possible, you should try to sign an unlimited rental contract in order to achieve a long-term commitment.

• Landlords have many duties and tasks
• These include, for example, the organization of tenant changeover or the annual preparation of a service charge settlement for the tenant

The right rental price – the rent index

The right rental price is not only crucial for success, but also enormously important for the rental. When determining a suitable rent, you should always orientate yourself on the local rent index of the respective city. This offers criteria such as location, size, year of construction or equipment of the apartment, according to which the own property can be categorized. If this has been done successfully, the so-called “local comparative rent” can be read. This provides an orientation value for landlords. If there is a rent brake in the region concerned, the rent for the property may be 10% above the “local comparative rent”. If there is none, the rent may be 20% above the “local comparative rent”.

Exceptions will only be made if it can be proven that otherwise losses would be made. However, if the rent exceeds 50%, the law assumes “usury”, so there are limits here too. The rent must always be determined in the individual case. Depending on the region and the property, it is advisable to adhere to the “local comparative rent” or to exceed it up to a reasonable percentage.

• It must always be considered whether the affected region has a rent brake or not

The rental contract – fair for both parties

The preparation of the rental agreement is very important and it is usually not easy to rely on the first best form from the Internet. Depending on the regulations, the contract is either landlord or tenant friendly. Ideally, it should be both and cover all important points. For example the regulations over the keeping of domestic animals, the cleaning obligations of the tenant, the renovation work when moving out, the subletting possibilities or however the height of the additional expenses pre-payments count for this. Avoid here unclear regulations or regulations which are clearly disadvantageous for the tenant.

At best, the lease is fair for both parties and leaves no room for interpretation. Prefabricated rental agreements from the tenant or landlord protection association are usually very detailed and well suited, but should always be checked in individual cases. If there are any open questions or problems, a professional real estate agent can help and provide remedy.

Finding the right tenant – agreeableness and important key data

Choosing the right tenant is not always easy and can cause many problems and costs if a wrong decision is made. When choosing a tenant, not only the sympathy effect should be considered, but also important key data should be obtained. These include a credit check and obtaining receipts for the last income, a tenant self-disclosure and a certificate of no rent debts. If all these key data are to your satisfaction, the personal impression of the potential tenant is important. A personal meeting at the viewing appointment can clarify many questions and help with the decision. The sympathy effect should not be ignored, because a good relationship between tenant and landlord helps to avoid future problems and disputes and to achieve a long-term lease.

• The rental contract should be fair for both tenant and landlord
• A rental contract should regulate all important points

The exposé and the viewing appointment – the way to the ideal tenant

The Exposé is the A and O with the tenant search. This is the first thing the potential tenant sees of the apartment and must therefore make a good first impression. Beside the most important basic data, like size, equipment, rent, additional expenses and situation landlords are obligated to publish the most important key data of the energy document of identification in the real estate announcement. Additionally, special features of the property should be highlighted here. A roof terrace, stucco or a fitted kitchen provided by the landlord represent characteristics increasing the residential value and justify for example a higher rent and arouse additionally the attention of prospective customers. Please note the correct indication of the number of square meters in the exposé. Since the rent is measured at this, it must be correct, since tenants can demand otherwise also afterwards still too much paid mine. When calculating the rent, it is especially important to consider roof slopes, low ceilings and the correct calculation of terraces or balconies.

The inspection can be done in different ways. With many prospective tenants, an open viewing is possible, in which all potential tenants view the apartment on their own and then submit a small application with a self-disclosure, a covering letter and other documents. Based on these you can then select a tenant. In addition, closed inspections are possible, with which you can show the dwelling to the prospective customers and clarify so again the advantages and get to know the persons better. Which type you prefer is left to your individual taste.

• The exposé should contain all important facts about the property and convince with professional pictures
• The tour is possible both as open and closed appointment

The correct apartment handover – handover protocol and the deposit

Before the apartment is handed over, the rent deposit and the first monthly rent should already have been transferred by the tenant. If this is not the case, this fact already makes the tenant’s payment morale doubtful and is usually not a good sign. If the handover of the apartment takes place as planned, a handover protocol is kept. In this protocol, any existing suggestions in each room of the apartment, the cellar, the garage and the attic are documented. Additionally, the meter readings of electricity, water and gas are documented. When handing over the apartment, it is advisable for each party to take a second person as neutral as possible as a witness and to ensure the existence of the protocol in case of disputes in court. However, the protocol should be signed by both parties in any case after leaving the property and kept in the documents.

• The apartment will only be handed over after payment of the rent deposit and the first monthly rent
• At the time of handover, a log is created that documents meter readings and existing damage

The most important questions about renting a house or apartment

Especially for inexperienced or beginners, the topic of real estate rental raises many questions. Who is the right tenant? How do I draw up a fair rental contract? What are my duties as a landlord? With these questions the support of an experienced real estate agent helps, but this option always involves the loss of money. To make sure that all questions are clarified for you and that you successfully start off as a landlord, the experts of Lukinski answer the most important questions about renting a house or apartment.

What are the most important contents of an advertisement?

The advertisement should contain all important information about the property, such as size, location, equipment, energy performance certificate, floor plan, rental price and additional costs. Especially important, however, are the photos, which convey the first impression of the property to interested parties.

Must the rental agreement be checked by a notary ?

The rental agreement does not have to be checked by a notary. At most, he can check whether all existing regulations are legally permitted, but the document does not have to be notarized by him.

Is the apartment handover certificate mandatory?

The apartment handover protocol is not required by law, but it is usually done anyway. It protects both the tenant and the landlord and is only beneficial to both parties.

Must the rent be determined by the rent index ?

The rental price must be determined by the rent index. This helps to keep the prices within a certain range and to ensure justice for tenants.