We're looking at renting a house in the short-term whilst we search for a place to buy, or have a house built (in Berlin or environs).

We have a few questions which we can't find using the TT search facility. Are there any TT'ers with experience of this who could help?

What we are unclear about is:

• Is there a general minimum rental period? We wouldn't be planning on renting longer than a year.
• What references does the renter require? Bank reference? Employer's reference?
• Can you rent if you don't currently have employment (but do have money in the bank)?
• We have four cats; might this be an issue with renters? (They're fully house-trained but we'd need to put a cat-flap in the outside door for instance).
• We're looking at houses on Immobilienscout24.de with Kaltmieter 800-900 Euro. Is this reasonable for the outer Berlin area?

Any advice appreciated.

I'm not that sure if you're talking about legal restrictions or stuff your landlord might want. But basically there is no difference between renting an apartment and renting a house.

Is there a general minimum rental period? We wouldn't be planning on renting longer than a year.
depends entirely on your landlord, but usually there is none

What references does the renter require? Bank reference? Employer's reference?
nothing I'm aware of is required by law, some might want to see some sort of employers reference/contract or proof that you're able to pay.

Can you rent if you don't currently have employment (but do have money in the bank)?
of course, a lot of people are renting without beeing employed (old, rich, on welfare, ...)

We have four cats; might this be an issue with renters? (They're fully house-trained but we'd need to put a cat-flap in the outside door for instance).
small pets (cats, small dogs, ..) are of no concern to your landlord, there have been several court cases on this. So you don't need to ask for permission. Putting a cat-flap in the door is obviously something different, you might have to pay for a new door when moving out.

We're looking at houses on Immobilienscout24.de with Kaltmieter 800-900 Euro. Is this reasonable for the outer Berlin area?
depends on the size of the house, garden, etc .. doesn't it?

Thanks Gorgo.

You're right of course, it all depends on the landlord.

But we are really wary after trying to rent a house in England following selling our own house. Minimum rental period 6 months (and that was rare); references required from bank and employers (definitely no welfare recipients!); personal references about our good character; and a pathological aversion ot cats - finally we found a house that didn't mind, and they have let us (or rather the company that first installed it, to avoid breaking the warranty) remove the panel in the back door and put a new one in with a catflap in (we shall have to replace the original when we move out of course. Anyone want to buy a upvc door panel with a cat flap?).

But then, Britons are heavily into buying homes rather than renting them, so landlords here are probably more cautious about the type of itinerant who wants to rent

Is there a general minimum rental period? We wouldn't be planning on renting longer than a year.

Can often be several months for houses. Not the 16 months you've experienced in Britain, but maybe 3-6 minimum. Depends on the landlord of course.
With houses, a good number want low fluctuation, so they tend to have some minimums. With apartments, it's often the other way around, since you can adjust the rent (upwards) with each new contract, and short-term lets tend to bring in more money.

some might want to see some sort of employers reference/contract or proof that you're able to pay.

Make that most, at least around here (might have to do with all the students renting). Payslips or some good account balance.