Pandekage

Forgot to check up on this topic until now, and I'm signing the contract later today...but yes, the room is 9 sq meters, with just a bed, in a suburb locale, which kinda explains the price. But the green flags: met the co-tenants (nice students); saw the apartment; Anmeldung is possible (Wohnungegeberbescheinigung given upon contract signing), four month closed sublease. I'm inclined to trust this probably isn't a scam... But thoughts? Any other checks that I should do to be totally sure?

Nope, like I said definitely not my intention to skirt the law. Anmeldung is definitely a priority.   Any thoughts on the previous two points I brought up?    

Okay another addition (again apologies so many posts). After looking at a few websites, i.e. this one: https://crocodilian.de/short-term-rental-blog/landlords-confirmation-of-residence/ Which claims that    I've already been living for two years in Germany, the whole time registered. This will be a temporary sublet for four months, after which I hope to find more permanent housing, and registration for that. According to this unofficial source I don't actually need to register, but it would be nice if this could be confirmed in the official law, if it actually is true.

Okay, so according to the website it can be provided anytime within two weeks..so perhaps not necessary to be presented at time of signing..but should I still insist on that to be safe? Also, upon reading this it seems that the landlord/management does not need to personally confirm/sign this, but needs to be listed. Can anyone confirm this? Because if so, then there's no reason for the main tenant to have to contact the managing company.

I've requested a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung (I'll be subletting as Untermieter), and the main tenant I'm renting the room from has declared that she needs to go into the office of the company that owns the apartment, and the Bestätigung will be mailed via post from them, and conveniently won't be available by the planned contract signing tomorrow. This AFAIK contradicts your statements about this document coming from the tenant, not the landlord... Should I call bullshit on this? And should the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung be provided at the time of the contract signing?

tl;dr I guess the main issue, despite them confirming that Anmeldung is possible, is confirming that the landlords have authorized it, and the tenants aren't just making it up and possibly faking a contract. How should I go about checking this for myself to cover my own ass? Contacting the landlords/administration themselves, checking the main rental contract?

They just emailed me, confirming that Anmeldung is indeed possible. (This is the €200 temporary sublet in a closet) I'll ask about the keys as well, and bring a friend to review the contract, but if Anmeldung is indeed allowed that should be the end of the main issue right? Or is it possible, and recommended, to confirm that the actual landlord has approved of this? At present I'm only corresponding with the main renters, with only their word that the administration is also fine with it. Any other steps to take? Review their main rental contract to confirm that subletting is possible, etc?

For the fellow tenants in Cottbus I did clarify that I am searching for a temporary accommodation until autumn, and they seemed to be okay with that. That said, should I then ask for a rental contract with a clear-cut termination date, and if that were possible would that issue be solved?   In terms of finding a replacement in Cottbus, if I moved out right before the winter semester starts it is probably not too hard to find a new student needing a place then.

That would be the jobseeker visa, correct? Yes, I believe that does give you full labor access, but I thought the idea of that was to allow you self-sustenance until you found a job relevant to your studies, after which you were to apply for a regular visa. And if you found a relevant job right out of school you could skip the jobseeker visa entirely.   To specify, my current visa expires in three years, and I'm not looking for a career change, just a change of employer but staying within my field of study.   Besides the standard identifying info... The Zusatzblatt has the following:   Beschäftigung nicht gestattet mit Ausnahme der Tätigkeit als Architekt M.A. (< what I studied) Selbstständige Tätigkeit gestattet Erlischt mit Bezug von Leistungen nach dem SGB II oder SGB XII bzw. AsylbLG

After advising from another friend who was very cautious against illegal subletting I was seriously considering the Cottbus option. The distance and commute is no issue; besides that how would you consider this as "much worse"? (it would be a "geteilter Hauptmietvertrag" between four people) Is it much harder to move out as one of the main renters, i.e. you are responsible for finding a replacement?

After searching for quite a while for a room I've gotten an offer back from a WG viewing; it's a €200 per month room (closet, probably 200x600) in an existing 3er WG, temporary for three months. While I'm thrilled and about to say yes, I'm also hearing alarm bells (which also happen whenever someone actually says yes).   Green flags: - met two of the three other tenants; (seem to be) nice college students - apartment and room is in good condition -  Red flags: - that a closet/common space room is being used as a temporary bedroom, might be legally grey - it's a sublease, likely without consent of the administration, without anmeldung - ...it's €200 per month   Are there any particular concerns I should address so that I know this isn't a long con or something? Particulars in the contract? Possibility of this being a scam?

Awoke with a fright and the realization that I haven't paid my Rundfunkbeitrag for the last two years. Or one and a half years. Seriously slipped my mind as a struggling grad student. I had registered and paid for the first half year that I lived in Germany, but since then I moved addresses within Berlin (still as single household) but didn't update my GEZ account with my new address. My current mailbox hasn't seen a GEZ letter in a long while, but I know they're piling up somewhere. I'm more than comfortable paying my outgoing fees in a lump sum (€400 something), but I have no idea what my Beitragsnummer is - I have no mail correspondence, and my bank account doesn't show transaction records going back that far. Therefore I can't ask to bring up my records and outstanding balance.   A quick look at the locked "refusing to pay" thread seems to show that most of the time nothing happens, but still I'd rather not stumble into shady business and get this settled. I'll be calling the Rundfunk first thing tomorrow morning, but any advice for someone in my situation? And hopefully something more helpful than "well you're fucked, and so is your credit score"  D:

After having gone apartment hunting for a while I've finally possibly landed a sublet. The only problem is that the person I'm renting from is allowing an Anmeldung only after a trial period of 1 to 2 months, the reasoning being that if either of us isn't feeling it and terminates it after a few months, it isn't worth doing the Anmeldung. So, if I do stay on and I get to register, I'll be going to the Bürgeramt one to two months after moving in - and the Beamter will see the rental contract with a start date of two months earlier. I understand there might be hefty fines involved. So - is this possibly a big problem? Should I insist to the renter that I be able to register immediately after moving in?

So I'm moving into a WG and, for the first time, I can't store my semi-expensive bicycle (ca. €500) inside. There's a interior courtyard (Innenhof) with somewhat crappy bicycle parking. I already have two bike locks (U lock and folding hinge) which make it hard to steal already when I'm out and about, but is that adequate when securing in an interior residential courtyard (but without secure entry gate) at night? A third chain lock, perhaps? Or anyone have similar stories and how they manage to keep their ride safe?

Any word on this? I'd love to make sure that technically I am allowed to change jobs (within my profession) while on this visa.