Frequently asked tenant questions

Even if we could find you in our system using your name and address, it is necessary to state your rental agreement number. It is used for verification and clear assignment to a rental property. 

You can find your lease agreement number on the first page of your lease agreement, as well as in all of our correspondence. In the GWH home tenant portal, your lease agreement number is listed in the “Lease Agreements” section.

Take advantage of the opportunity to download your rental certificate yourself via the GWH home tenant portal. In the “Documents” section (web browser) or “My GWH” and then “My Forms” (app), you’ll find the “Rental Certificate” option. Once you click on it, the certificate will be generated for you and will be available for download within seconds. 
Alternatively, please contact our Customer Service (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000). 

If you need a copy of your lease agreement, you can request one via the GWH home tenant portal in the “Notifications” section. The service charge statement is also available for you to download in the “Documents” section (web browser) or “My GWH” (app).
Alternatively, for all other copies, please contact our Customer Service (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000).

If a legal guardian has been appointed, please inform us accordingly and send us a copy of the guardian's certificate.

In order to be able to provide information to relatives or other third parties, we require a power of attorney from you. Please contact our Customer Service (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000), who will send you the appropriate form.

For data protection reasons, personal data may only be passed on to third parties with the consent of the person concerned. For this reason, if you wish to do so, we require a power of attorney from you, which you can request via our Customer Service (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000).

Please notify us of any name change in writing or via the GWH home tenant portal, providing appropriate proof. There, you can create a request under “Notifications,” which will be imported directly into our system. You will receive written confirmation as soon as our records have been updated.

E-mails are often sent unencrypted, which means that data could be intercepted. We therefore always ask you to send personal data by post. 

You can find our central postal address here.

You will receive deposit interest statements by post on request. On request, the statement can be requested via our Customer Service (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000).

As there is no contractual relationship between us and your subtenant, we cannot issue a landlord's certificate for them. You are the landlord of your subtenant and must issue the certificate yourself.

There are various alternative supply options such as DVB-T2 indoor antennas. Furthermore, IP TV signals can be received with an internet connection, for which you need an additional device. These include TV sticks, various receivers or apps with which channels can be received. Own satellite systems are not an alternative and are not permitted - if you have already installed your own satellite system outdoors, this must be removed. Further information can also be found on the website of the consumer advice center. 

The satellite systems in our homes will be switched off and you will no longer be able to receive a TV signal via these systems. Alternative supply options are available to you (see question 1). 

Due to a change in the law (TKG amendment), fees for a TV cable connection may no longer be billed via the ancillary costs in future. From the changeover date, tenants will have to choose the type of TV reception in their rented apartment themselves and conclude individual contracts. You have been informed of this change by letter. 

For the majority of apartments, those supplied via ImmoMediaNet, the changeover will take place on June 1. For all other providers, the switchover will take place on June 30. After a short transition period, you will no longer be able to receive TV via the cable connection. You can find out what applies in your case in the information letter you have already received. 

If you wish to use the cable connection in your home for television and possibly other services such as telephony, Internet and/or pay TV beyond the changeover date, you must conclude a separate supply contract with a corresponding provider. 

The TV cable connection in your apartment will be provided by GWH's contractual partner until the changeover date and will be billed via your ancillary costs until then. 

Due to a change in the law (TKG amendment), charges for a TV cable connection may no longer be billed via the ancillary costs from mid-2024. Your monthly advance payments for ancillary costs will be recalculated with the next statement and adjusted if necessary. Please note that there will be no adjustment to your rent payment or your advance payment of operating costs at this time with regard to the change to TV supply, nor will there be any direct payment. The costs will be taken into account on a pro rata basis for the 2024 statement. You will receive the statement by December 2025 at the latest. 

No, GWH does not offer a collective contract. 

No. The TV cable connection in your apartment will be provided by the respective contractual partner (provider) of GWH until the changeover date. Tenants will then be free to choose the type of TV reception. 

Please contact your new supplier for this. 

The monthly consumption reports only provide you with the information to recognize and compare your personal consumption.
There is no relation to the total consumption of the property and the main meters.
Neither cost transfers nor any cost calculations are based on this; these are carried out exclusively via the service charge statement.

You have received our information letter as the new Heating Costs Ordinance came into force on December 1, 2021. This is for your information only. 

If you are already registered on our tenant portal, GWH home, you don't need to do anything else. You will automatically receive monthly updates on your current usage in your account as soon as this service becomes available.

If you haven't registered yet, we'll send you your utility usage information by mail each month. However, there is an annual flat fee for this service. If you'd prefer not to pay this fee, simply register on the GWH home tenant portal—it only takes a few minutes— andyou'll receive this information for free going forward.

The ordinance amending the Heating Costs Ordinance (HeizKV) came into force on December 1, 2021. The amending ordinance transposes the requirements of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive into German law. As landlords, we are now legally obliged to inform our tenants about their energy consumption in the previous month in a monthly notification. This should help to increase awareness of consumption, conserve resources and thus contribute to climate protection.

It is not permitted by law to completely unsubscribe from the consumption information. If you do not take advantage of the free digital consumption information, you will be charged the annual flat rate for sending the letter.

For reasons of data protection, we are currently unable to send this information by e-mail. 

In general, landlords are entitled to charge the costs incurred, e.g. for the monthly mailing of letters. The annual flat rate is EUR 30.00. You will receive information on the payment of this amount from GWH in good time.

To help you save money and protect the environment, we’re providing free, digital usage information online via the GWH home tenant portal. If you’re already registered or sign up by February 15, 2022, we’ll stop sending paper statements, and you’ll save the full annual flat fee. Please note that this service will be available starting no earlier than the end of February for January 2022.

The flat rate is calculated per apartment.

No, in this case we do not charge a full flat rate.

The prerequisite for the provision of monthly consumption information is that the metering devices can be read remotely. If your home is not yet equipped with these devices, we cannot and do not have to provide the monthly information.
Existing meters that are not remotely readable must be retrofitted or replaced by remotely readable devices by the end of 2026. The costs for postal delivery will of course only be incurred once the conversion has been completed and you actually receive your monthly information from us.
We are working on making the information available to all tenants as quickly as possible.

There can be two reasons for this. Firstly, no consumption information is provided if the entire house is not equipped with remotely readable devices. Secondly, a central data collector must also be installed in the property.
We are working on retrofitting all properties as quickly as possible in order to provide you with the information.

As soon as new consumption information is available for you on the GWH home tenant portal, you will be automatically notified. After receiving the first notification, subsequent notifications will be sent monthly.

As the obligation only applies to remotely readable meters, the values are automatically read by the responsible metering service provider on a monthly basis. This means that you do not need to be present to read the meter.

The responsible metering company performs the calculation for GWH. The Heating Costs Ordinance stipulates that consumption must be stated in kWh. For this reason, the metering service provider calculates the kWh from the consumption of the meters and then provides them accordingly.  

In order to be able to better classify the amount of your consumption, you will receive the data for an average user as a comparative value. This information is based on data from metering service providers in other properties in your area.

A data protection-compliant solution is required for the comparison specified by the legislator with the consumption of a standardized average user or an average user of the same user category determined by comparative tests. This issue is currently being addressed by all metering services. A precise and standardized procedure that meets the requirements of the Heating Costs Ordinance and the data protection requirements of the GDPR is currently being developed and will be made available to you as soon as possible.
 

If you have not yet installed remotely readable meters in your building, we cannot and do not have to provide the monthly consumption data.

Since commercial customers are currently unable to use our tenant portal, GWH home, you will receive your usage information exclusively by mail. 

The collection of data from the remotely readable metering devices may only be used for consumption-based cost allocation and to fulfill the obligation to provide information during the year.

• Receive important information as well as further news and interesting offers
• View key data on the tenancy (details of the apartment, rent amount, ...) and contact details
• Viewing and changing your master data stored with us (telephone numbers, e-mail address, etc.)
• View and retrieve your personal documents, e.g. utility bills
• Preparation of damage reports
• Report other concerns
• Status display of your damage reports and other inquiries to us as well as communication with the responsible employee
• Request a rental certificate and landlord's certificate of residence quickly via concerns
• Documents (contract documents, correspondence, etc.) at a glance and ready to download
• Change/activation of a Sepa mandate/bank account

You can use the above services around the clock and independently of the Customer Service opening hours on your mobile or PC - without any waiting times. For example, you can report damage conveniently via smartphone by taking a photo of the damage and sending it to us. The report lands directly in our system and can be processed more quickly this way. You can also use your report to get in touch with the employee responsible and receive further information via the chat.

Registration and use of the GWH home tenant portal are free of charge.

If you were already registered in the previous app, you received a registration letter there under “Documents” and were notified via email about the upload.

If you no longer have this letter, you can easily generate a new code at https://www.gwh.de/mieterportal#registrierung by entering your lease agreement number, name, and date of birth. 

If you have received two registration codes, they apply to different lease agreements (e.g., apartment and parking space). Please note that a single email address cannot be used for multiple registrations. However, you can use different email addresses to view all your tenancies via the GWH home tenant portal. If this is not desired or possible, please send an email to gwh-home-support@gwh.de so that we can adjust your access.

 Persons who are not included in the rental agreement cannot register.

For data protection reasons, each contractual partner receives their own individual registration code.

You have received an email or letter from us containing the necessary login information. It includes your personal registration code. You can use this code to register once on our website at www.gwh.de/mieterportal or via the “GWH home” app using your email address and set a new, personal password.

If you no longer have this message, you can easily generate a new code at https://www.gwh.de/mieterportal#registrierung and then register as described above. 

After registering for the first time, you will receive an email at the address you provided. Once you’ve confirmed the link in the email, your account will be activated, and you can log in using the password you created.

We recommend that you scan the QR code on the letter with the camera of your smartphone so that you do not have to type in the registration code manually. This consists of upper and lower case letters and numbers. Be careful not to mix up the letter O and the number 0. We have tried to use a font that differentiates between numbers and letters as much as possible. If you still have problems, please send us an e-mail to gwh-home-support@gwh.de. 

Please note that you can only register at the start of your tenancy. If you still have problems, first try to reset your password using the "Forgotten password" function. If you no longer have access to your previous e-mail address or the problem persists, please send us an e-mail to gwh-home-support@gwh.de.

Both products offer identical functions and differ only slightly in layout. The decisive factor is therefore your preferred end device. 

• For aPC, laptop, ortablet, werecommendlogging in via your browser at: GWH home Tenant Portal
• If you have an Android smartphone, the Android app is your best choice. You can find it by searching for "GWH home" in the Google Play Store.
• Tenants who own an iPhone can find the app under "GWH home" in the App Store.

No problem. Even though we don't offer a dedicated app for Windows Phones, you can open the "GWH home Tenant Portal " browser app on your smartphone. The GWH home Tenant Portal automatically adjusts to fit your smartphone's screen.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to change your login email address after registration. To do so, you must delete your account and register with a new email address. To do this, click on the user icon in the upper right corner, then click “Delete Account,” and follow the instructions.

Note:
However, you can change the email address we use to communicate with you (contact email address). This change only affects email correspondence; it does not affect your login for the GWH home tenant portal. To do this, simply go to the user icon in the top right corner → “Personal Data” → “Edit Data” and enter your desired contact email address there.

In the app: Click the user icon in the upper-right corner, then click “Change Password.”
In the browser: Settings – Change Password

To do this, use the "Forgot password" function. Please make sure that you click on it directly and do not enter your e-mail first and then use the "Forgot password" function in the subsequent login screen. You will then receive an e-mail and can assign a new password.

• At least 8 characters
• Upper and lower case letters
• At least one digit and one special character (no spaces)

If you are the primary tenant of multiple rental properties (e.g., an apartment and a parking space), these will automatically appear in the GWH home tenant portal, or you will have received two separate registration codes. You will not have access to properties for which you are not a party to the lease agreement.

In the “Inquiries” section (app menu bar at the bottom, browser menu bar on the right), select “Other Inquiries” at the top – “+ Report a New Inquiry” – “Required Document” – “Rent Certificate.”

This will then be made available to you within 24 hours in the "Home" - "Documents" area

At present, you will also receive all our letters by post.

As soon as a new document (e.g., the utility bill) is available for you, you will be notified by email. If you use the app, you can instead receive notifications via push notifications. You can enable or disable these in the settings. You’ll also receive the latest news about your property through the “News” section in the GWH home tenant portal.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Simply send an e-mail to: gwh-home-support@gwh.de.

Please also state your rental agreement number. The more precisely you describe the malfunction or your problem, the faster we can help you. Please also send us meaningful screenshots and tell us which device the problem occurred with.

You can delete your account yourself. In the app or browser application, click the user icon in the upper-right corner, then click “Delete Account.”
In the browser application: Settings – Permanently delete account.

Every GWH tenant is assigned a separate rental account to which the monthly rent must be transferred. You can find the bank details for your rental account in your lease documents and on the GWH home tenant portal under “Contracts” (web app) or by clicking “Housing” and then “My Contract” (app).

The rent is payable monthly in advance, at the latest by the third working day of each month.

No, this is not possible. The rent must be paid in advance, no later than the third working day of the month.

Use the GWH home tenant portal to create a SEPA direct debit authorization directly: Go to the “Contracts” section (browser application) or the “Housing” section, then select “My Contract” and click “Change Bank Account Information.” 
Alternatively, you can contact our Customer Service (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000). You will then receive the appropriate form by mail.
 

Please contact our Customer Service (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000). You can view the current balance and your rent composition via GWH home.

As the contractual partner, you are our contact for all matters relating to the tenancy. You are obliged to ensure that the rent is paid regularly, punctually and in full. If necessary, please forward letters about rent changes, utility bills or rent arrears to the office so that shortfalls can be made up and rent adjustments taken into account.

Even if your rent payments are regularly made by the office, we are not permitted to provide any information without your consent. If you wish to have a permanent exchange with the responsible office, please issue a corresponding authorization to provide information. You can obtain the relevant form from our Customer Service (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000).

If you wish to pay in installments, please contact our Customer Service (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000). They will check whether we can grant you an installment payment and, if so, in what amount.

The direct debit mandate can be revoked in text form without giving reasons. You will then receive a confirmation from us.

You can apply for housing assistance at the city’s housing assistance office or city hall. To do so, you’ll need a current rent certificate. You can obtain this through the GWH home tenant portal. In the “Documents” section (browser application) or under “Housing” and then “My Forms” (app), you’ll find the “Rent Certificate” option. Once you click on it, the certificate will be generated for you and will be available for download within seconds.
Alternatively, you can contact our Customer Service (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000).
 

If a “tenant direct service agreement” has been arranged for your residential complex, you can report minor damage occurring in your apartment—up to an estimated value of €300, including VAT—directly to the relevant companies. Please refer to the GWH home tenant portal or the directory of contractors posted in the stairwell for the relevant trades, addresses, and phone numbers of our contracted companies. The work must be of a nature that we are obligated to perform under our contractual obligations as the landlord. You are responsible for paying for repairs resulting from damage in your apartment or to your personal property that you caused yourself. If the estimated cost of repairing a defect exceeds 300 € or if there are defects in the building or on the grounds, you can submit a damage report via the GWH home tenant portal under “Reports.” Alternatively, please contact the responsible building superintendent or our Customer Service (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000). A short explanatory video on direct tenant requests can be found below.

If, on the other hand, your residential complex uses an outsourced service provider, please contact the relevant company directly; you can find its information on the GWH home tenant portal and on a notice posted in the stairwell.

If neither direct tenant reporting nor outsourcing has been agreed upon, you can also submit a damage report via the GWH home tenant portal under “Reports.” Alternatively, please contact the responsible building manager or our Customer Service (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000).
 

If your rental agreement contains a minor repair clause, you are responsible for the costs of repairing minor damage to parts of the rented property that are subject to your constant access and use up to the agreed amount (€51.13, €77, €100). In the event of several repairs within one year, the maximum amount is limited to a maximum of 8% of the annual net rent. You will also be charged for the costs of repairing damage/defects caused by you.

Minor repairs include the repair of minor damage to parts of the rented property that are subject to your constant access and use, in particular to the installation items for electricity, water and gas, the heating and cooking equipment, the window and door locks, roller shutters and the locking devices of window shutters.

Please contact the corresponding service hotline of ISTA (phone: 0201 50744497) or TECHEM (phone: 0800 2001264)

Please notify the responsible building manager or the outsourcing company. They will contact you to schedule an on-site inspection. You can submit a report directly into our system via the GWH home tenant portal.

Please contact the janitor responsible or our Customer Service (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000) and state the type and number of keys required. We will be happy to order additional keys for you. The costs are to be borne by you. Our janitor can tell you the estimated amount. If you move out of the apartment at a later date, all keys - including any additional keys you have requested and paid for yourself - must be returned to us.

In urgent emergencies, you can reach the following emergency service outside our working hours and on weekends and public holidays:

Kasseler Wach- und Schließgesellschaft
Phone: 0561 816 642 64

Only messages relating to urgent emergencies that cannot be postponed, such as

- Failure of the heating system
- Power failure outside your home
- Burst water pipe
- Failure of the antenna supply throughout the building

can be accepted.

Please inform the emergency service center comprehensively about the entire damage and leave your name, address and telephone number. The emergency service center will arrange for the fault to be rectified by our contractual partners.

If it turns out after a fault has been rectified that it was a minor case that could have been dealt with during working hours, we may have to charge you for the additional costs of the emergency call-out. Therefore, please only use the emergency service center in real emergencies.

Please report general issues that are not emergencies to your building manager or our Customer Service department during regular business hours (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000). You are also welcome to submit a report directly into our system via the GWH home tenant portal.

File a report with the police and report the theft to your household contents insurance (if available). If a burglary has caused damage to the apartment or house (especially to doors and windows), please report this to the janitor responsible or our Customer Service (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000).

A defect in the rented property must be reported to us immediately upon discovery. Otherwise you are not entitled to reduce the rent. We do not have to accept a reduction in rent if we were not aware or could not have been aware of the defect in the rented property. We must be given the opportunity to rectify the defect by notifying us of the defect. Your request must be submitted in text form, stating the reason and the amount of the rent reduction.

All avoidable noise must be refrained from. On working days, the times from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (midday rest) and from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (night rest) are considered quiet times. Sundays and public holidays must be observed as rest periods. Electronic musical instruments and other sound reproduction devices may not be operated above room volume.

We ask that you first politely bring your neighbor’s misconduct to their attention. If this does not lead to an improvement, please submit a written complaint to the responsible customer service representative, listing the violations along with the date, time, and any potential witnesses. The representative will then notify the tenant in question in writing of their misconduct. You can find a noise log template on the GWH home tenant portal. There, you can also conveniently submit your complaint online.

If house cleaning has not been assigned to a company, it must be carried out by all tenants in alternating order. The details are set out in the "House and washing regulations" for the respective year, which can be found as a notice in your hallway.

If snow and ice removal and gritting in the event of black ice has not been outsourced to a company, this work must be carried out by the tenants. The details are set out in the "House and washing regulations" for the respective year, which can be found as a notice in your hallway.

Please submit your complaint in writing via the GWH home tenant portal or by email to kunde@gwh.de. 

The statement of operating and heating costs will be sent to you by the end of the twelfth month after the end of the billing period at the latest. The billing period runs from 01.01. to 31.12. of a year. Even if you moved out on 31.01.2018, for example, you will not receive your statement until the period 01.01.2019 - 31.12.2019.

A certificate for household-related services can only be issued in the course of the operating and heating cost statement. As this is issued within one year of the billing period (e.g. for 2016 by 31.12.2017 at the latest), the certificate in accordance with Section 35a EStG is often not yet available at the time of the tenant's tax return. In this case, they can use the certificate that they received in the tax year (in this example, the one for 2015).

The certificate can be issued for a maximum of the last two years. You can request it through the GWH home tenant portal or by contacting our Customer Service (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000).

On the first page of the billing letter, you will see the individual billing results (operating costs/heating costs) in the upper table. The overall result (credit/receivable) is calculated from the individual results.

The annual rhythm of the billing period is prescribed by law. The billing period is 12 months and begins after the end of the billing period. This is stipulated in §556 BGB. The costs incurred during the entire billing period are decisive. The annual costs are not yet available when you move out.

It is not the move-out date that is decisive for the settlement, but the end of the tenancy agreement. For this reason, billing always takes place up to the end of the tenancy agreement, i.e. in this example up to 31.05.2016.

The annual billing period must be specified by law. Your personal billing period ("Your share for the period 01.01.-31.07.") is shown on page 1 of the apportionment statement under this information ("Settlement of apportionments from 01.01.-31.12.").

On page 4 of the billing letter, you can see that the costs incurred were only calculated up to the move-out date.

We adjust your advance payments annually on the basis of the current operating and heating cost statement. In principle, these adjustments are intended to avoid high additional charges. Nevertheless, we cannot completely rule out additional payments, as the tenant's individual heating behavior and price increases must also be taken into account.

The amount of the additional claim/credit depends on various factors, such as the

- Amount of advance payments made
- Apartment size
- Consumption-related costs

It often happens that, despite the same apartment size, the allocated cost shares of the tenants are not identical. This is usually due to the fact that there are also cost items that are billed according to the tenants' individual consumption. As a rule, this applies to the cost items water/waste water and heating and, in some cases, waste disposal charges, if there are corresponding consumption records for each apartment. If there are different final results for the same apartment size and the same amount of allocated costs, this is usually due to the amount of the advance payments made, which are not identical for all tenants.

The apportionment of operating costs is usually based on m² of living space and not on the number of people. The apportionment of heating costs, on the other hand, is based on the basic and consumption costs. The number of people does not play a role here. The allocation key is set out in the rental agreement and is decisive for billing. The allocation of consumption-based costs (e.g. water/waste water, refuse and heating) is based on the metered consumption of the individual tenants, provided that meters are available. If no measuring devices (e.g. water meters/heating cost allocators) are available, the allocation is based on the proportion of living space.

For the operating costs, it does not matter whether you were at home or not, as these are charged according to m² of living space (with the exception of water/waste water, partial heating and garbage, if corresponding meters are available). The heating costs are made up of basic and consumption costs. The basic costs are incurred in any case, regardless of whether you were at home or whether you used the heating at all. Only the consumption costs may be affected by lower consumption.

Despite proper management, it is unfortunately not always possible for our employees on site to identify the individual responsible for the bulky waste. All tenants are therefore jointly and severally liable for these costs. In principle, appropriate measures are taken at regular intervals and in the event of obvious breaches of the regulations to inform/remind tenants about proper waste disposal. In addition, before removing bulky waste, we ask all tenants to remove any waste deposited in violation of the contract and to refrain from depositing waste in the future. We also draw attention to the chargeable commissioning in the event of non-compliance/non-removal. This notice justifies the allocation of the bulky waste charges as operating costs.

The operating cost item "elevator" (elevator power, emergency call, maintenance, etc.) is part of your rental agreement. The apportionment is therefore justified. First floor tenants must bear these costs in the same way as all other residents. The decisive factor is that the tenant has the opportunity to use the elevator.

On the bottom third of page 1 of the billing letter is the due date for the additional payment. "The additional payment from the statement in the amount of xxx (amount) is due by xxx (date)." 

The bottom third of the first page of the settlement letter states whether you must transfer the additional payment or whether we will debit it with the next rent payment. If you have given us a SEPA mandate, we will debit the additional payment amount together with the rent. You will find the debit date in your service charge statement.

In some cases, it may also make sense to increase the advance payment if there was a credit balance on the previous bill. This may be due to foreseeable cost increases, for example.

In some cases, it may also make sense to reduce the advance payment if an additional payment was due from the previous statement. If it is foreseeable that the costs to be incurred by you will be more than covered by the amounts paid to date, we will reduce your advance payment installment in order to ease the financial burden on you.

In accordance with the ordinance on the consumption-based billing of heating and hot water costs, at least 50% and no more than 70% of the costs of operating the central heating system are to be allocated according to the recorded heat consumption of the users. The remaining costs are to be distributed according to the living or usable area. The exact distribution can be found in your tenancy agreement and in the service charge statement.

We have installed radio-based water meters and heat cost allocators in almost all apartments. These devices are read by the metering service by radio at the end of the billing period. It is therefore no longer necessary to enter the apartment to read the meter.

In principle, consumption should be billed according to the measured consumption of the recording devices (heat cost allocators) in accordance with the Heating Costs Ordinance. However, it can happen that these technical devices are defective or fail so that the consumption values cannot be used. In such cases, a replacement procedure is required to determine the heating costs in accordance with Section 9a of the Heating Costs Ordinance. In this case, the pro rata consumption is either estimated by means of a comparative calculation based on a previous billing period or determined from the consumption of comparable rooms in the building.

If no interim meter reading has taken place when a tenant moves out and a new tenant moves in, the consumption-based heating costs must still be divided between the previous and new tenants. The so-called degree day figures are used for this purpose. The degree day figures reflect the temperature trend over the course of a year based on long-term average values. The heating-intensive months are valued higher than the months in which little or no heating is used. The degree day method is a procedure recognized by the legislator and the courts. It was laid down in VDI (Association of German Engineers) 2067, Sheet 1. The year is divided into 1,000 degree days and each month is assigned a certain number of degree days based on experience. The exact figures can be found in the attached table from the statement. This cost calculation has been defined by the legislator in §9b paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Heating Costs Ordinance and is therefore binding for us. The heating cost statement has therefore been prepared correctly in accordance with the statutory provisions.

The heat cost allocators (HKV) are located on the radiators in the respective rooms. In principle, all devices work in the same way, i.e. there are usually three values on the display:

1. device number (for Techem devices e.g.: n 1234, the "n" is always in front of the device number; for Ista devices, the meter number is on the HKV, above/below the display)
The metering service can use this number to assign the device to a user.

2. current consumption
The units consumed since the last cut-off date or installation are displayed.

3rd meter reading value of the previous year
No value is displayed until the first cut-off date. After that, the value up to the cut-off date is saved here.

If an HKV is not working and is running on fault, the radio symbol with C-I / or /F-I appears.

Payments will only be made to an account registered with us if you have previously participated in the direct debit procedure and we have not received any notification from you regarding different bank details. If you have recently transferred the rent yourself, please provide your bank details to our customer service team (email: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000). If we do not have any account details or if the bank details you now require differ from those on file with us, we will require written notification from you. You can find our central postal address here.

Please provide us with your bank account information in writing so we can issue a refund. We cannot accept this information by phone or email. The letter must be signed by you. You can find our main mailing address here. Alternatively, you can also provide your bank account information through the GWH home tenant portal. To do so, simply create a new request.

In the billing letter on page 1, you will see the due date of the credit in the lower third. As a rule, we will offset your credit balance against the current rent if you have given us a direct debit mandate. If this is not the case, please offset your credit balance against the next rent payment yourself.

Please let us know your requested adjustment via the GWH home tenant portal or our Customer Service (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000). You will receive written confirmation by mail.

Please contact the appropriate representative in the Operating Costs Department. You can find the contact information in your operating costs statement under "Questions about your statement?" Alternatively, you can submit a report via the GWH home tenant portal.

Your apartment is publicly subsidized. As part of the subsidy agreement, the landlord has the option of adding a 2% loss of apportionment risk to the operating and heating costs incurred. The purpose of the loss of contribution risk is to protect the landlord against possible payment defaults. Even if you have always paid the full amount of your bills, we will still charge the loss of apportionment risk as it protects us against payment defaults by all tenants.

To do so, please submit a written objection. You can find our central mailing address here. Your request will then be reviewed and you will receive a response.

You need permission to install your own flooring. Please let us know via the GWH home tenant portal or our Customer Service (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000) which rooms you would like to install flooring in and what type of flooring you plan to use. Under certain conditions, we may be able to reach an agreement with you regarding this.

Installing an awning is generally possible. However, such an installation requires approval and must be discussed with us in advance. Provided there are no objections, we will enter into a written agreement with you regarding the installation of the awning. Please contact us via the GWH home tenant portal or our Customer Service (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000).

No permit is required for up to two small animals (e.g., hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs) or up to two cats. Small animals are animals that are primarily kept in cages, terrariums, or aquariums and do not cause a nuisance or pose a danger to other tenants, nor do they cause damage to the rental unit.
Dangerous dogs, animals that cannot be kept in an apartment in a manner appropriate to their species, and animals generally considered dangerous—such as crocodiles, poisonous snakes, or spiders—as well as dangerous small animals are generally not permitted. 
A case-by-case review is required for dogs and more than two cats or small animals. Please contact us via the GWH home tenant portal or our Customer Service (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000). 
 

The installation/attachment of satellite systems is generally not permitted by us.
Since you have access to a comprehensive range of information in your native language via the existing cable connection or via the Internet, we ask for your understanding that we do not grant permission to install a satellite dish.

It is not permitted to sublet the entire apartment to third parties. Only partial subletting of the apartment may be permitted under certain conditions. Please contact our Customer Service (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000) so that we can check your request. Please note that a monthly subletting surcharge of at least €50 is charged for privately financed apartments.

To terminate a sublease agreement, please send us a copy of the change of address certificate for the subtenant who has moved out. You can find our central mailing address here. The sublease agreement and the sublease surcharge can only be terminated once we have received this document.

Please notify us of any move-ins or move-outs during the lease term through our Customer Service (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000). We also ask that you let us know if your family has grown. In this case, it makes sense to adjust the operating costs, which will help you avoid having to make an additional payment. You are welcome to submit the birth certificate via the GWH home tenant portal.

A personal appointment with the responsible commercial real estate manager is required to take on an additional contractual partner/tenant. You can make an appointment via our Customer Service (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000). They will also send you a letter with the necessary documents to bring to the meeting.

Please contact our Customer Service (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000). You will receive a corresponding application from them. The prerequisite for a release from the rental agreement is that there are no rent arrears and the remaining contractual partner has sufficient income to pay the monthly rent.

Please send us a copy of the death certificate so that we can update the contract information accordingly. You can submit a request for this through the GWH home tenant portal.

We will be happy to check your request. Please contact your responsible janitor first so that they can check whether a conversion is technically possible. If this is the case, you can apply for a subsidy from your health insurance company. If the application is approved, the janitor will recommend a company to carry out the work, from which you can obtain a cost estimate. Once you have received this, forward it to us for checking. You will then receive written notification from us as to whether the conversion can be approved.

If you wish to have your bathroom modernized, please inform our Customer Service (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000). Please note that such a modernization is always associated with a rent increase. After we have checked your request, you will receive a letter of response from us. If you agree to the modernization measures, you will receive an agreement that includes the amount of the increase after the work has been completed. Bathroom modernizations are not carried out in publicly subsidized apartments. Maintenance measures are carried out independently of this.

Although energy-saving modernization measures (e.g. new windows, thermal insulation) are expected to save heating costs, we will not initially reduce the advance payments. In this case, we will wait for the next heating bill and then make a reduction if necessary.

To avoid any possible loss of entitlement, we do not issue certificates of freedom from rent arrears. However, we can send you a current statement of your rental account. Please contact our Customer Service in this regard (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000).

Notice of termination may be submitted in writing by mail. If submitted by email or through the GWH home tenant portal, it is legally valid only if a PDF or image file is attached in which the signatures of all contracting parties are clearly legible. The notice of termination must specify the apartment or garage in question. In the event of a valid notice of termination, you will receive a written confirmation of termination from us stating the end date of the lease agreement and providing information on the next steps.

You can find our central postal address here.

The notice period for residential tenancy agreements is generally three months. Notice of termination must be received by the third working day of the first month of the notice period. Saturday counts as a working day. If the third working day falls on a Saturday, the deadline for receipt is extended by a further working day. Please note that if an exclusion of termination is agreed during the agreed period, ordinary termination of the tenancy is not possible.

In principle, yes. However, if your old apartment can be rented out early, it is possible to terminate the tenancy early.

Yes, we will send you a confirmation of termination stating the end of the contract and the next steps. 

You will need the landlord's certificate to re-register with the residents' registration office.

The certificate is usually included with the lease agreement we have signed. If this is not the case, please send us a message via the GWH home tenant portal or contact our Customer Service (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000). We will then send you the certificate separately.

The certificate is usually enclosed with your confirmation of termination. If this is not the case, please inform our Customer Service (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000). We will then send you the certificate separately.

If your apartment is not subject to any occupancy restrictions, you can suggest interested applicants as new tenants. Please name them with contact details either directly in your letter of termination or contact our Customer Service (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de). Please note that there is no entitlement to early release from the tenancy agreement and no entitlement to acceptance of the proposed applicant.

In principle, you must remove all tenant-owned fixtures and fittings when you move out. There is an exception if the work has been carried out properly and a new tenant who has already moved in is interested in taking it over. In this case, an agreement between you and the new tenant is required. The items then become the property of the new tenant.

All tenant-owned fixtures and fittings (including those that may have been taken over from the previous tenant) must be removed and any existing damage must be repaired. Unusual color schemes must be removed. Depending on the contract, cosmetic repairs must be carried out. Please arrange a pre-inspection appointment with our janitor to determine the work required.

If contractually agreed, you must carry out decorative repairs before moving out. If a new tenant who has already moved in takes over the current design or wishes to renovate the apartment to their own taste, this must be recorded in writing. The janitor responsible can hand out a corresponding form for this purpose during the pre-acceptance of the apartment.

As early release from the tenancy depends on various factors, we decide on this individually. Please contact our Customer Service (e-mail: kunde@gwh.de, telephone: 069 97551 3000).

No. The keys are handed over exclusively by our janitor and are documented in writing. Please note that you are liable for the rented property until the end of the rental agreement.

In principle, there is no legal entitlement to a contract extension. Please inform us of your request in text form. An extension of the tenancy is only possible if no follow-up tenancy agreement has been concluded with a new tenant.

A termination is an irrevocable declaration of intent that can only be withdrawn in exceptional cases. Please submit your request in writing. The letter must be signed by all parties to the rental agreement. You will receive feedback from us after we have checked your request.

You can find our central postal address here.

No. The rent must be paid in full by the end of the contract and may not be offset against the deposit.

The deposit will be returned to you at the end of the tenancy. Settlement will take place within 6 months of the end of the contract. Please note that any claims arising from the tenancy will be offset against your deposit. Furthermore, we are entitled to retain a reasonable portion of the deposit for possible additional payments from the service charge statement. If the deposit has been paid by a guarantor (e.g. social security office), it will be repaid to them unless we have received written confirmation that the balance may be paid out to you.

You can provide us with your new address through the GWH home tenant portal or by contacting our Customer Service (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000).

Please provide us with your bank account information in writing. We cannot accept this information by phone or email. The letter must be signed by you. You can find our main mailing address here. Alternatively, you can also provide your bank account information via the GWH home tenant portal. To do so, simply create a new message.

Any claims arising from the tenancy will be offset against your deposit. You will receive notification of this. If there are no more claims and the deposit has still not been paid out in full, this is probably a security deposit. We are entitled to retain a reasonable portion of the deposit for possible additional payments from the service charge statement.

We require a copy of the death certificate in order to legally process the tenancy. Please send this to us together with the termination of the tenancy. This must be in writing. A fax or e-mail is not sufficient. The notice period is three months to the end of the month. We must receive the notice of termination by the third working day of the first month of the notice period. You will then receive a confirmation of termination in which we will describe the next steps in detail.
We can only pay out security deposits or credit balances from service charge statements after the end of the tenancy if there are no more claims and we have proof of inheritance. Please remember to submit this proof to us in due course.

You can find our central postal address here.

Consent to a rent increase must be given in writing. The rent increase request form includes a template that you can use for this purpose. This must be signed by all contractual partners and returned to us. You can find our central mailing address here. If you no longer have the template, you can also formulate your consent yourself.

Your consent must be given by the second calendar month following receipt of the rent increase request. You will find the exact date in our rent increase letter.

As long as we have not received written notice of termination from you, consent is required.

If you do not agree to the increase, we will file an action for approval with the competent local court. In view of the particular disadvantages that you may suffer if you refuse to give your consent, we would like to draw your attention to the consequences of taking legal action. Such legal proceedings are not only associated with personal inconvenience, but also with considerable legal fees and court costs, which you will have to bear if the court is expected to give its approval.

At the beginning of the third calendar month after receipt of the request for an increase. You will find the exact date in our rent increase request.

If the local comparative rent provides potential for increasing the rent, the rent may be adjusted again after just one year. It goes without saying that the statutory provisions will be complied with.

We justify our request for a rent increase in accordance with the provisions of the German Civil Code (BGB) with reference to a higher local comparative rent. As a rule, we refer to a rent index or comparable apartments. Details can be found in our rent increase request. According to the statutory provisions, we can demand approval to increase the rent up to the local comparative rent, taking into account the rent cap, if the rent has remained unchanged for at least one year.

It is not possible to make a blanket statement on this. In principle, all tenants are treated equally. If individual tenants have not received a rent increase, the legal requirements for a rent adjustment are not met.

According to the statutory provisions, the rent must have remained unchanged for at least 15 months at the time the increase is to take effect and the rent may be increased by a maximum of 15% or 20% (depending on the municipality) within three years. It is therefore possible that the last rent adjustment by the neighbors was not too long ago or was so high that no further increase is currently possible.

Rent increases may vary due to different apartment sizes. It is also possible that the current rents differ due to different letting dates. Someone who has previously paid a little more will therefore receive a lower rent adjustment.

This may be because your service charges are higher than those of your neighbor. If your basic rent is higher, this is probably because your neighbor's rent cannot currently be increased due to legal regulations (the rent must remain unchanged for 15 months and may be increased by a maximum of 15 % or 20 % within three years).

Without a subjective assessment of the rent level, the rent for a price-free apartment is determined solely by comparison with the local rent. If there is a rent index in your municipality, this can be used to easily determine the rent of an apartment. Only the objective criteria of an apartment in comparison with those of the rent index are decisive.

Without a subjective assessment of the rent level, the rent for a price-free apartment is determined exclusively by comparison with the local rent. If there is no rent index in your municipality, the local rent is determined by comparing comparable apartments.

If no rent index with information on local rents is available, the prevailing legal opinion on Section 558a BGB is that it is sufficient to name three comparable apartments from the tenant's own portfolio to justify a request for a rent increase.

The comparative apartments used for the rent increase do not have to be exactly the same size. Despite the differences in area, our comparative apartments meet the legal requirements for a rent increase in accordance with Section 558 of the German Civil Code (BGB).
Smaller apartments usually have higher rents per m² of living space. It can therefore be advantageous for you if we compare your apartment with a larger one.

If a rental property is classified as a "good residential location" according to the rent index to determine the local comparative rent, the positive features clearly outweigh the negative features. This does not mean that the residential location has only positive and no negative features.

The apartment you are renting was subsidized with funds from public budgets when it was built. These funds have now been repaid in full, which is why it no longer qualifies as "publicly subsidized".
Publicly subsidized apartments are subject to special statutory provisions, e.g. the Housing Commitment Act or the Act on the Reduction of Misguided Subsidies, which no longer apply to your apartment. In future, the German Civil Code (BGB) will be the legal basis for determining and agreeing your rent.

Please understand that we have to treat all tenants equally and therefore cannot take up the social concerns of individual tenants and include them in a rent increase request. We must enforce a rent increase that is justified and justified in accordance with the provisions of tenancy law in the same way.

You may be entitled to so-called social housing. You can submit an application to the relevant housing office. After checking your income situation, you may receive a certificate of eligibility to move into a publicly subsidized apartment.

The rent for price-free apartments is based exclusively on the customary local rent payable for comparable apartments. If higher rents are customary on the housing market, a lower rent can be adjusted in accordance with the German Civil Code (BGB). If a tenant's rent burden and income are no longer in line, the legislator intends that a socially fair adjustment should be made by the relevant authorities (the relevant laws are the Social Assistance Act and the Housing Benefit Act). We recommend that you contact the housing benefit office to find out whether and to what extent you are entitled to housing benefit.

An objection to the rent increase must be submitted in text form and justified.

Please note that the rent for a price-free apartment is determined exclusively by comparison with the local rent. Only the objective criteria of an apartment in comparison with those of the rent index / comparable apartments are decisive. Rectifiable defects in the rented property have no influence on the determination of the rent and the rent agreement procedure in accordance with the German Civil Code (BGB). No conditions can be attached to your consent; it must be granted without any restrictions.
If there are defects that reduce the usability of the apartment, you can certainly assert your claims. However, you cannot refuse to give your consent to a proper and therefore legally effective request for a rent increase.

The repeated payment of the increased rent is regarded as implied behavior and is to be equated with your consent to the rent increase. There will be no refund.

An increase due to modernization measures is not subject to approval. It is legally permissible to increase the annual rent by 8% of the costs incurred for the apartment. An objection is not possible.

Your apartment is a publicly subsidized apartment, the rent for which is based on the expenses for the apartment. As soon as the costs of running the property increase, the rent must be adjusted and this is legally permissible. Nevertheless, the rent for your apartment is comparatively low compared to price-free apartments.

At the beginning of the third calendar month after receipt of the request for an increase. You will find the exact date in our rent increase request.

The management costs for your apartment have increased and there has been no rent adjustment for a longer period of time. This is another reason why your rent is significantly lower than what is customary for comparable accommodation in the area today. We therefore request your consent to adjust the rent to the current rent level.

SEPA is the abbreviation for Single Euro Payments Area, the single payment transaction in the euro currency. The use of SEPA payment instruments has been mandatory for companies since 01.02.2014. The German direct debit procedure has been replaced by the SEPA direct debit procedure, which is standardized throughout Europe.

You can set up a SEPA direct debit through the GWH home tenant portal or request one through our Customer Service (email: kunde@gwh.de, phone: 069 97551 3000). 

The pre-notification is an advance notification as part of the SEPA Direct Debit Scheme. Pre-notification is any written notification announcing a debit by SEPA direct debit. It contains the due date and amount, creditor ID, IBAN, BIC and mandate reference number. The purpose of the pre-notification is to ensure that you have sufficient funds in your account.

The mandate reference is an individual identifier of a SEPA mandate assigned by the creditor - in this case GWH. In conjunction with the creditor identification number, it enables the unique identification of a payment.

The creditor identification number (creditor ID) is an account-independent and unique identifier of the payee. The company uses it to identify itself to the payer.

The SEPA direct debit mandate is the authorization for the collection of SEPA direct debits. It replaces the issuing of a direct debit authorization. The SEPA direct debit mandate includes both the payer's consent to the collection of payments by SEPA direct debit to the payee and the instruction to the payer's own payment service provider to honor the payments.

The BIC (Business Identifier Code) is an internationally unique bank code that must be entered alongside the IBAN for credit transfers and direct debits. The BIC is made up of the bank and country code, the city code and the branch identifier.

The IBAN (International Bank Account Number) defines every account in the European Union. The number varies in length depending on the country (in Germany it always has 22 digits) and always has the same structure.
It is made up of the country code, a two-digit check digit, the previous bank sort code and the existing account number. This replaces the account number and bank sort code.

You can find the IBAN and BIC on your account statements, your bank cards or in your bank's online banking portal, for example under "My details" or "Account details" - depending on how the area is named at your bank.

Housing benefit is paid as a subsidy to households whose income is just above the basic income support threshold. This is intended to ensure that tenants on low incomes can also afford appropriate and family-friendly housing. Households eligible for housing benefit include families, single parents and senior citizens in particular. 

Housing benefit can be applied for at the local housing benefit offices of the municipal, city, district or county administrations. They will provide you with the relevant application forms and comprehensive advice. The new regulations apply from January 1, 2023.

The amount of housing benefit is calculated according to the number of household members to be taken into account, the rent of the living space to be taken into account and the total income of the household members to be taken into account. The exact amount of housing benefit is checked and determined by the local housing benefit office.
The WohngeldPlus calculator provides initial guidance.

According to current information, a permanent heating cost component is intended to cushion the rising energy costs.