i am going on exchange next semester and considering renting a house instead of staying in the hostel.
Hi! To rent an apartment, it would be best to look online or in the newspapers. However, German terms are often used and you might be confused.
Here are the common terms to help you along:
Quadratmeter (QM or M2) – this is accompanied by a number and tells you how big the apartment is in square meters.
Zimmer (Zi) accompanied by a number tells you how many rooms the place has.
The term Baujahr (BJ) followed by a number means year built.
The terms Water Closet (WC), Bath (Bad) and Dusche (Du) tell you about the sanitary facilities. Bath means only a tub, and a WC is a room with a toilet but no bathing facilities.
The words Erdgeschoss (EG), Obergeschoss (OG) and Dachgeschoss (DG) tell you how high up in the building you’ll be; respectively “ground floor”, “upper floor” and “attic floor”
Kaution (Ka, Kt and Kaut) is the “security deposit” that you must lay down over and above your rent. This is usually followed by a number, which tells you what the security deposit is in euros.
Gepflegt (Gepfl) means “well cared for” and Ruhig (Ruh) means “quiet”.
Nebenkosten (NK) means “incidental expenditures” that may not be included in your rent; such as trash collection, stairwell cleaning and water.
If you happen to be looking for a fully furnished apartment, keep an eye peeled for the term Möbliert (Möbl), and if you are looking for such comfortable amenities as central heating, a balcony, a garden or a garage look for Zentralheizung (ZH), Balkon (Balk), Garten (Gart) or Garage (Gge)
Hope this has helped you in your search for a house. All the best!