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7 reasons buying furniture in Germany is a nightmare

You’ve negotiated your new job contract. You’ve signed your lease. The keys jangle in your hands. What’s not to be excited about?

Published: 12 June 2017 09:33 CEST
7 reasons buying furniture in Germany is a nightmare
Photo: Pixabay

Well, your apartment is most likely empty. And we mean empty – as in you’re lucky if you actually have light bulbs dangling from the ceiling and not just wires hanging out. 

Furnished rentals are in short supply in Germany, so being an expat here involves buying furniture and, would you believe it, even a kitchen. That’s right – your flat likely has no kitchen: no oven, stove, refrigerator or cabinets. Just fixtures and bare walls.

Sure, expats in Germany are starting to look at other options like furniture rental or leasing – because buying furniture in Germany can be a nightmare.

So to help save you from unexpected grief, we’ve put together a list things to expect when buying furniture in Germany – or, as we like to call it: The “Notorious 7”.

Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

1. The wait

Photo: hunor83/Depositphotos

Think you’ll have your furniture immediately? Think again. It’s pretty much impossible to buy furniture to take home then and there. Usually, the furniture is made after you’ve placed your order – that’s right: supply on demand. And depending on the individual pieces, this might take a while. So expect up to four months even for a simple couch.

2. Hell's kitchen

Photo: darkday/Flickr

The worst part about German rentals, hands down, is the kitchen. It’s even hard to distinguish from the other rooms since it’ll have almost nothing in it (aside from a double row of tiles – the ‘backsplash’)! So you have to buy an expensive kitchen. Again, standard delivery time is around 8 to 10 weeks, and that doesn’t include the two weeks you have to wait for your kitchen to be measured. And the hassle doesn’t end there…

3. Points of no return

Photo: Gajus-Images/Depositphotos

Beware of the fine print, folks! As soon as you sign off on the measurements, you signed the binding purchase contract, so if the kitchen doesn’t fit – too bad, you’re paying for it.

Also, should you need to, you probably won’t be able to cancel your order; cancelling is occasionally possible but expect a hefty fee.

4. Nightmare delivery dates

Photo: franckito/Depositphotos

Germans are notorious for being punctual, right? Well when it comes to delivery, wrong! Be prepared to be frustrated because deliveries generally come at the tail end of long time windows (‘Zeitfenster’) – if they are on time at all. Nobody can afford to sit around all day (and there are no doormen in Germany), but if you’re not home, your furniture will be left in front of the building. If you are at home, your furniture won’t even be delivered to your desired room. Even worse, after that horrendous wait, you’ve still got the laborious task of setting up the furniture.

5. Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

Photo: SIPhotography/Depositphotos

You’d better! You are in Germany after all and you can’t expect everybody to speak English. Just ask the guy we know who tried to buy a black leather sofa when he moved to Germany (from the US). Ten weeks later (!) a red sofa showed up on his doorstep. Yep, no kidding! After confirming the purchase order, he realised he’d ordered the wrong colour… and he’s still not sure how it all got lost in translation (note to self: schwarz = black, rot = red).

6. German beds not made for Kings

Photo: tan4ikk/Depositphotos

Good luck finding the right bed size. For instance, a “king size” in Germany is only a queen in most other countries. So brush up on your metrics and beware that cabinets, tables, and even the refrigerator and cars are, generally speaking, smaller in Germany compared to how things are in, say, North America.

7. Forget Low Budget

Photo: ivonnewierink/Depositphotos

Saving the worst for last: Buying furniture in Germany is expensive; if you scrimp in cost you scrimp in quality. Plus you’ve got all those issues with delivery.

So why not rent furniture instead? And have it delivered within 48 hours…

Rental vs. the “Notorious 7”?

The fact of the matter is that expat lifestyle is often unpredictable – you may not plan on staying in Germany forever so you need a flexible and hassle-free arrangement.

Considering the “Notorious 7”, you can see why furniture rental has become increasingly popular among expats in Germany.

Furniture Leasing Corporation (FLC) allow you to choose rental packages for as short as four weeks or as long as five years. They also offer an extensive online catalogue with options to fit every taste and room. You can even rent electronics and appliances like televisions, washing machines and refrigerators, and yes, kitchens, too.

Best of all, FLC can deliver everything, for free, within 48 hours – no matter where you live in Germany. All you have to do is surf, shop, and relax on your new couch!

There are of course challenges to expat life, don’t make furniture one of them!

Find out more by visiting Furniture Leasing Corporation

This article was produced by The Local Client Studio and sponsored by Furniture Leasing Corporation.

For members

RENTING

How a German ‘Mieterverein’ can help you reduce your rent

If you're renting in Germany, you may have heard about a tenants' association - or Mieterverein. But you may not be aware that joining one could help save you money in the long run.

Published: 10 September 2024 11:17 CEST
Updated: 14 September 2024 08:15 CEST
How a German 'Mieterverein' can help you reduce your rent

There’s a truism that applies to many areas of life in Germany: there are plenty of rules and legal protections, but the vast majority of people don’t know them.

This feels particularly real when it comes to the world of renters’ rights. As a nation that generally prefers to rent than to buy, Germany has a huge range of in-built protections for tenants – but that doesn’t always stop landlords from bending the rules. 

The best way to make sure you’re getting a fair deal is to try and get familiar with your rights, or enlist the help of somebody who knows them inside-out.

That’s where the concept of the Mieterverein, or tenants’ association, comes in. These member-only organisations are there to advocate for the rights of tenants, keeping illegally high rents and other dodgy practices in check for renters in Germany. 

These types of associations can be a life-saver for foreigners who may struggle with the German language and German law, and could even help you save money in the long run. 

What is a Mieterverein?

A Mieterverein, or tenants’ association, is exactly what it sounds like: an organisation that stands up for the rights of tenants. It works by offering affordable memberships for renters – usually costing somewhere between €50 and €100 per year – which is then used to provide legal advice and representation, as well as advocacy and lobbying work. 

Ultimately, the idea is about strength in numbers. Instead of a single tenant taking on a big landlord like Vonovia or Deutsche Wohnen, a collective approach gives renters both more bargaining power and more resources.

Following this principle, many of the regional Mietervereine have clubbed together to create tenants’ associations in their state, which ultimately belong to the Germany-wide umbrella association, the Deutscher Mieterbund (DMB).

There are 320 associations currently active in the DMB, with the largest being the Berliner Mieterverein with more than 190,000 members. This is followed by Hamburg, with 78,000 members, and Munich, with 63,000. 

READ ALSO: How foreign residents in Germany are winning rent reductions

Members rely on tenants’ associations to assist with anything to do with Germany’s tenancy law. That means poring over rental contracts, ironing out difficulties with landlords, challenging rent increases or overly high rents, and fighting unfair or illegal evictions.

Of course, one of the most compelling reasons to join is to keep high rents in check – and find out if you could be eligible for a reduction. 

How can a Mieterverein help lower my rent?

Though it may not always feel like it, the vast majority of areas with a tight housing situation in Germany are subject to fairly stringent rental controls, known as the Mietpreisbremse.

These controls were mandated in a 2015 law that has recently been extended to 2029. Though there are some loopholes, the rules generally dictate that cold rents should be no more than 10 percent above the average rent for comparable properties in the same neighbourhood.

READ ALSO: German rent brake to be extended until 2029: What you need to know

The ways for calculating this are complicated but all you really need to know is that they are based on something called the Mietspiegel: a huge table charting the average rent prices based on factors like a property’s size, location, age and facilities. 

Berlin prenzlauer Berg

Flats in the Berlin district of Prenzlauer Berg. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Monika Skolimowska

One service tenants’ associations can offer is to compare your rent against the Mietspiegel to see if you’re being charged too much. 

To do this, they’ll look at your contract and ask you a series of questions about your rental property. If it turns out the rent is illegally high, Mieterverein lawyers can help you draft a letter to officially challenge your rent and ask for it to be reduced.

Some tenants’ associations also offer legal protection insurance (Rechtsschutzversicherung) as part of their memberships, which can help you deal with any issues that may arise with the landlord later on. 

What about annual rent increases?

In most cases, these can be disputed as well. Under the Mietpreisbremse rules, rents can be raised by a maximum of 20 percent in the space of three years. This can be good grounds to challenge a big annual increase in rent – but it isn’t the only way. 

The legal representatives at your local Mieterverein will be able to help you dispute increases in rent, as long as you don’t agree to these increases straight away.

Once again, the increases may be based on a shaky foundation of illegally high rents to start with, so it’s always worth getting everything checked over in full by a qualified lawyer.

It’s also worth keeping an eye on any issues with your apartment, such as broken fixtures and fittings, because these can be grounds for a rent reduction until the problem is fixed.

READ ALSO: How to get a rent reduction for problems in your German flat

Advisors at the Mietervereine will not only be able to tell you what are grounds for a Mietminderung (temporary rent reduction), but also how much you could be entitled to. 

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