Living in Hamburg

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Finding a Home

Finding the perfect apartment, flatshare or house can seem like a challenge. We can tell you about housing listings and services in Hamburg.

5 steps to find your new home

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Location

The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is divided into 7 districts: Hamburg-Mitte, Altona, Eimsbüttel, Hamburg-Nord, Wandsbek, Bergedorf and Harburg. These districts are in turn divided into neighbourhoods. Hamburg has a total of 104 districts.

On the information page "Districts & neighbourhoods" (in German) you can find out more about the different districts in Hamburg. This can be helpful in finding out where you want to look for a flat.


Flat search

The most common way to find a suitable flat in Hamburg - whether to rent or buy - is to look for property adverts on the Internet or in the relevant newspapers.

By entering the terms "flat", "rent" and "Hamburg" in an Internet search engine, you will receive an overview of the most common property portals. You can create an individual search profile in the property portals and be informed (in some cases after registration) about corresponding flat offers.

You can use the interactive rent index map (in German) to find out whether the asking rent is reasonable. 

Housing co-operatives publish their vacant flats directly on their own websites. You can find an overview of the housing co-operatives in Hamburg at http://wohnungsbaugenossenschaften-hh.de 

How does renting a flat from a housing co-operative work?

  • You have to become a member of the co-operative and buy shares in the co-operative.
  • The amount of the shares usually depends on the size of the flat.
  • The co-operative shares bear interest and are usually refunded when the member leaves.


You can also use our guide to finding accommodation. It contains lots of useful information and tips on finding a flat and is part of the welcome package.