Moving with two suitcases: everything you do not have to buy

The contract is signed, and you start in six weeks: Frankfurt, Berlin, or Stuttgart. You are not alone. Studies by ifo and Prognos show that two thirds of people living in temporary furnished housing would not have been able to take their job without this option. When you move to an unfamiliar city for work, the apartment is the real bottleneck, not the employment contract.

This article sorts out what a furnished apartment actually takes off your plate, and what it does not.

EVERYTHING YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BUY

If you rent an empty apartment, you spend the first few weeks buying half a household: bed, mattress, closet, table, lamps, washing machine, refrigerator, dishes. Every item comes with a delivery window, and every delivery window falls on a weekday when you are supposed to be working.

In a furnished apartment, that is already handled before you get the keys. You bring your suitcases, laptop, and the things that make you feel at home. The rest is already there.

ADDRESS REGISTRATION: THE PART ALMOST EVERYONE UNDERESTIMATES

People usually find a way to deal with the furniture. What newcomers really get stuck on is address registration (Anmeldung). Under Germany’s Federal Registration Act, you must register at the local citizens’ office within two weeks of moving in, and for that you need a landlord confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung) from your landlord. Almost everything that comes next depends on your registered address: tax ID, bank account, contracts, and for international newcomers, residence-related formalities as well.

This is exactly where many temporary solutions create problems. In a hotel, you are a guest, and in most cases you will not receive a landlord confirmation there. A furnished apartment from six months, on the other hand, is a standard rental relationship: rental agreement, landlord confirmation, address registration. The path intended by the registration law, without detours.

WHAT IT COSTS, CALCULATED HONESTLY

Furnished is more expensive than empty. That is part of the truth. Handelsblatt puts the surcharge for furnished apartments across Germany at around 45 percent compared with unfurnished apartments.

Against that, you have to calculate three costs that come on top of an empty apartment: the furniture itself, the double burden of paying old and new rent during the weeks you are setting up, and the stack of contracts for electricity, internet, and public broadcasting, each with its own term and cancellation period. At OneHaven, the price depends on the building: At Roomments, you pay an all-in monthly flat rate from €1,140, with no year-end back payment. At Eastside, you pay rent incl. utilities from €940, with a monthly utility prepayment that is reconciled once a year. At The Bloom Homes and Haus Marzahner Chaussee, you pay rent incl. utilities; electricity and, depending on the building, internet are added separately. Whether the math works for you depends on how long you stay: for three trade fair weeks, a hotel is the better choice. From six months, the calculation changes.

HOW TO RECOGNIZE A VERIFIED OFFER

The fear of fake listings is real among newcomers, especially if you are renting from abroad and cannot attend a viewing. A building at OneHaven only receives the Five Star Trust Checked seal after it has passed five checks: we visit the address ourselves, personally inspect every apartment, show the price transparently, payment is only made after you sign, and there is a local team in your city that knows your apartment.

One resident described the experience in a Google review like this: “I had to move temporarily from Austria to Berlin for a project. I could not have imagined an easier apartment search.” The rating comes from tenants: 4.7 stars on Google, publicly available to read.

YOUR GETTING-STARTED CHECKLIST

Pack your bags. Book your trip. Confirm your handover appointment. That’s where you’ll get your keys, Wi-Fi access, and the number for your contact person. Within the first two weeks, go to the citizens’ office for address registration (Anmeldung).

Nearly 1,000 furnished apartments in Frankfurt, Berlin, and Stuttgart are listed on the platform. Choose a city, take a look at the building, and send an inquiry. Your local team will get back to you personally.