Found an Apartment – and now?
You have signed the lease agreement for an apartment. Here you can find out which contracts you need to conclude in addition to the rental agreement.
Energy and gas supply
In Germany, electricity and gas costs are paid in monthly installments ('Abschlag'). When leasing a new apartment, these are usually calculated on the basis of the square meterage and the number of people living in the apartment. There are various portals on the Internet where you have the opportunity to compare electricity and gas providers and check the services and prices. Some providers also offer the possibility to pay in advance for the whole year. But be careful! If a provider goes bankrupt, you may not get your advance payment back.
For electricity usage, the actual annual consumption is read from your electricity meter at the end of the billing period (usually a calendar year). This is also done, by the way, when you pay the budget billing to your landlord or landlady. Depending on your usage and the amount of the total budget billing payments, you will then receive a credit to your account or have to pay an amount in arrears to the provider. If you purchase gas, the procedure is usually comparable, but also depends on the company. By the way: It is often worthwhile to compare services and prices every year and to switch providers, because you can then benefit from many discounts and bonuses.
In most cases, you will have to sign a contract for the supply of household electricity yourself. Caution! If you do not conclude a contract with an electricity supplier, you will be assigned to the basic supplier. The contract is then concluded automatically. The conditions of the contract are not always to the consumer's advantage.
Water supply
The tap water in Hamburg is of such a quality that it meets the standards for drinking it. So there is no problem at all when you drink the water or use it for cooking. You can find a lot of information about the water in Hamburg on the website of Hamburg Wasser (in German), which is the only provider for the water supply. Therefore you cannot choose the provider. The water costs are paid monthly by deductions and billed at the end of the year. If your payments are not billed through the landlord, you must contact Hamburg Wasser yourself. Whether you have to read your water meter yourself or whether this is done by a Hamburg Wasser employee varies from apartment to apartment. However, you may receive a meter reading card, which you then simply fill out and return to Hamburg Wasser.
Web and media access
Have you already been able to clarify whether your landlord or landlady will provide a cable connection for television and perhaps internet, for example? Sometimes you can include this as an option in the lease. If this is not the case, you are free to choose between many providers. Take your time to check which offer is suitable for you and also use the possibility of consultation. Compare the providers with services and prices on the portals. Also pay attention to whether the monthly deductions are increased after a few months according to the contract. Sometimes initially favorable-looking contributions are increased after 6 months by almost a hundred percent. Do you then want to and can you still pay these premiums? In addition to these costs, every household in Germany is required to pay a monthly broadcasting licence fee.
Please also remember to register your new residence within two weeks following your move.