Landlord’s certificate, landlord’s confirmation – contents, deadlines and possible fines

Landlord certificate, landlord confirmation – If you move into an apartment or a house, the so-called landlord certificate is always an important issue that should be considered to avoid unnecessary costs. It was introduced due to a large number of so-called bogus addresses, which were often used for criminal activities.

Landlord certificate – What you should know

Since 1 November 2015, there has been a uniform registration law for Germany. Since then, the landlord is obliged to issue such a landlord certificate when moving in and out. Due to a reform of 01.11.2016, the landlord certificate is no longer required when moving out, but only when moving into an apartment or a house. The reason for this reform is that a landlord certificate is associated with a high administrative burden. A deregistration is an exception to this.

What is the tenant obliged to do?

The Federal Registration Act obliges a resident to file a change of residence with the Residents’ Registration Office within two weeks. However, a move-out is not always necessarily connected with a new move-in. There are also cases in which only a deregistration must take place, for which a landlord certificate is nevertheless necessary. A deregistration is always required if the tenant wants to move abroad. One such case is an exception, namely the landlord certificate must also be provided when moving out of a property. Since this certificate must also be available at the Residents’ Registration Office within two weeks, the landlord is obliged to issue it within two weeks.

What is a housing provider confirmation?

Often terms occur in everyday life, with which one can not particularly do much. Are you wondering what the term landlord confirmation is all about? Are you also interested in the difference between a landlord’s certificate and a landlord’s confirmation? It is a synonym. A landlord’s certificate is the same as a landlord’s certificate. It is issued by the landlord and presented to the residents’ registration office when a tenant moves in.

Registration law – re-registration

What information must the landlord certificate contain?

If you or your landlord do not know what information must be included in a landlord’s certificate for it to be valid, be sure to follow this list:

• Name and address of the landlord
• Information whether it is a move-in or move-out
• Date of moving in or out
• Address of the apartment
• Names of persons subject to the reporting obligation

If this information is included in your landlord certificate, it is valid and can be used for the necessary purposes. It does not matter whether it is in written or electronic form. The landlord certificate must be delivered to the relevant registration office, this can either be done by the tenant or by the landlord. There is no standard form that must be available.

If your landlord decides to send an electronic certificate to the Einwohnermeldeamt, the latter will receive an allocation mark which you, as the tenant, must present when you re-register.

Exceptions

Many people assume that this obligation does not apply to a second home or a shared home. However, this is a mistake. The landlord certificates must be submitted to the residents’ registration office by the same deadlines.

Possible penalties: fines

Anyone who fails to inform the residents’ registration office in good time about a move-in must reckon with a fine of 1,000 euros. If the information was not complete due to the lack of a landlord certificate, the landlord is liable for the penalty, as he is obliged to issue it in time.

There are also so-called bogus registrations. If landlords issue certificates that do not correspond to the truth, they can expect a fine of up to 50,000 euros.