Tricky German Rental Abbreviations in Ads

November 19, 2018

Tricky German Rental Abbreviations in Ads – 40 of Them Explained

german rental abbreviations

If you are about to move to Germany or are relocating within the country, you are in need of a roof over your head. Especially if your German is not that good (yet), this could prove difficult. Most people use online platforms for their house hunting, so you should focus on a real estate service like Rentberry that is fully available in English to make things easier.

As if finding housing in Germany wasn’t already difficult enough in itself, you will stumble upon some strange-looking words that sound like something encrypted. Welcome to German real estate listings! You will find loads of abbreviations as Germans are using them frequently, no matter the context.

But don’t worry, we are here to help you out with this. Here comes a list with the 40 most used abbreviations in property listings.

Type

Whg.

Wohnung

Apartment

App.

Appartement

Apartment

AB

Altbau

Old building, usually built before WWII

NB

Neubau

New construction, recently built

Zi.

Zimmer

Room(s)

SZ

Schlafzimmer

Bedroom(s)

1-ZW / 1-RW

1-Zimmer-Wohnung / 1-Raum-Wohnung

Apartment with 1 room

VH / Vdhs.

Vorderhaus

Front building

HH / Hhs.

Hinterhaus

Back building

EFH

Einfamilienhaus

Single-family house

RH

Reihenhaus

Row house

DHH

Doppelhaushälfte

Semi-detached house

 

Storeys

EG

Erdgeschoss

Ground floor

OG

Obergeschoss

Any floor above the ground floor

DG

Dachgeschoss

Top floor

ETW

Etagenwohnung

Apartment located above the ground floor

 

Costs

KM

Kaltmiete

Rent excluding extra costs

WM

Warmmiete

Rent including extra costs, often does not include internet

NK / BK

Nebenkosten / Betriebskosten

Extra costs for water, heating, etc., often does not include internet

Abl.

Ablöse

One-off payment to the previous tenant for furniture or appliances

VHB

Verhandlungsbasis

Negotiable price

HK

Heizkosten

Heating costs

 

Features

EBK

Einbauküche

Built-in kitchen

Du

Dusche

Shower

möbl.

Möbliert

Furnished

TG

Tiefgarage

Underground parking

WaMa

Waschmaschine

Washing machine

Spülma.

Spülmaschine

Dishwasher

Ausst.

Ausstattung

Furnishing

Blk.

Balkon

Balcony

Terr.

Terrasse

Terrace

HZ

Heizung

Heating

ZH

Zentralheizung

Central heating

FW

Fernwärme

District heating

 

General

zzgl.

Zuzüglich

Plus

bzw.

Beziehungsweise

Or rather, or also

jährl.

Jährlich

Annually

Bj.

Baujahr

Year of construction

EB

Erstbezug

First-time occupancy

NR

Nichtraucher

Non-smoker

Is there something missing in the table? Try to look it up in a comprehensive online dictionary such as Langenscheidt. Now that you know what all those small words in the listings mean, your next step is to reach out to the landlords. Here are some quick tips about it. Get a German-speaking friend to help you out with writing an application text without any grammatical or spelling errors. But be aware that you should always adapt it to the specific flat you are applying for, otherwise you get lost in the shuffle between all the other applicants. Try to make it a bit more personal and tell the landlord about yourself. If you need help with the letter in German you can get the help of a professional tutor. Now you can lean back and wait for their answers!

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