You can support refugees by offering housing for free or at reduced rates. When calculating the rental price for a furnished apartment, consider location, size, the number of beds and furniture, and local comparative rental rates.

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You can create a listing in just a few steps.

- After adding your address, you will need to create an account. You can use your email address or an existing account on Facebook, Google or LinkedIn. You must be logged in to complete your listing and turn it live.

- Once you confirm your email address, you can edit your first listing:

• Add general information about your apartment and the rooms.
• Set the all-inclusive rent including all utilities.
• Add general information about your apartment and the rooms.
• Set the all-inclusive rent including all utilities. You can support refugees from Ukraine by offering housing for free or at reduced rates.
• Upload photos of your apartment.
• Make sure your listing has a meaningful title and add a description of the apartment in English and German.
• You can select additional features from a list.

- Verify your identity via Veriff with a valid government-issued identity document and an internet connected device with a working camera, or schedule a phone call.

- Once you receive a notification about successfully verifying your identity, click on "Update listing" to complete your listing.

- We will then activate the listing, it will be visible online, and you will be able to accept booking requests.

‍Click here to get started.

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Any change to the purpose of a property (e.g. to usage as a residential property) requires approval. You should refer to the building regulations of your federal state. To change the purpose of your property, you need to apply to your local building authority (Baubehörde).

If you own an apartment that is located in a residential area, generally speaking you can let others use your apartment without having to obtain planning permission. In this case, no changes that require approval are being made to the purpose of the property.

We recommend that housing providers take out liability insurance or household insurance to protect themselves against any potential damage.

If you sign a rental agreement with Ukrainian refugees, you can agree that your tenants will give you a security deposit or a rental bond, in line with the provisions set out under Section 551 of the German Civil Code (BGB). However, remember that most refugees do not have the necessary financial resources, nor will the authorities cover it.

If the refugees from Ukraine have friends or family living in Germany, you as the landlord may decide to accept a suretyship, guarantee or collateral promise from the friend or family member. A template guarantee can be found here.

If you need support as a host, for example, to understand the behavior of your guests, or if they feel overburdened, seek help. You can find support here.

If you are at a loss and need urgent help, contact one of the crisis hotlines here.

‍Migration Counseling Centers are essential for finding answers to questions about dealing with authorities, government offices and asserting legal claims.

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Refugees from Ukraine can receive housing support, in certain cases payments are made to the housing providers, depending on local regulations. To find out more, visit the Jobcenter Website.

If you let someone use a part of your apartment or one room

‍If you are a tenant in a rental apartment and would like to take in one or more people for more than 6-8 weeks, you need to obtain permission from your landlord according to Section 540 of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, or BGB for short). This also applies to people who have arrived from Ukraine.

Offering a part of your home for free on a short-term basis is a different case. A stay lasting 6-8 weeks is usually considered as a visit and does not require specific authorization, so you do not need permission from your landlord. The same applies if you have close family members staying with you, such as spouses, children or parents.

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‍Letting someone use your entire apartment

‍If you want to let a refugee use your entire rental apartment, you will need permission from your landlord.

While there is no minimum rental period, please consider offering your space for at least one month.

Yes. Wunderflats offers this service on the Helfende Wände platform free of charge.

If you'd like to host someone for a longer period of time (more than 6 weeks), we recommend that you sign a contract. Wunderflats can provide you and the refugees with rental agreement templates in German/English, Ukrainian and Russian. If you want to take in people without charging them rent, you might consider signing a gratuitous loan agreement with them. We will be happy to provide a template for this as well.

For more information, please contact us at support-ukraine@wunderflats.com.

You can offer housing without furniture, but please keep in mind that most refugees arrive in Germany with only the bare essentials. You can support them by providing basic furniture.

You can offer an entire apartment or a spare room. Please indicate the housing type when creating a listing on the platform.

If you are taking in refugees free of charge

‍Your relationship with the Ukrainian refugees can be considered a relationship of goodwill if you have taken them in free of charge and temporarily. In this case, there is no contractual relationship.

Please keep in mind: a relationship of goodwill that is not subject to the law is ultimately dependent on the circumstances of the individual case – particularly the legal and economic significance of the case for those involved.For example, if you provide accommodation free of charge, you may wish to sign a gratuitous loan agreement that is valid for a limited period of time. The lease will then end once this agreed period has passed.

‍If there are rent payments

‍If you rent out your property for a fee, a rental agreement will come into play. You can limit this rental agreement to a specific period of time in line with the statutory requirements set out under Section 549 II or Section 575 of the German Civil Code (BGB). If the statutory requirements are not met, the statutory regulations for terminating the lease will apply.

This depends on whether the young people in question have fled Ukraine with a parent or legal guardian. If you take in young people or children with their parent(s) or legal guardian(s), then there are generally no legal aspects to take into account.

On the other hand, you may not take in minors or young people who have arrived in Germany on their own. They will first be taken under the care of the local youth welfare office (see Section 42(1) of Book VIII of the German Social Code (Sozialgesetzbuch – Achtes Buch, or SGB VIII for short)).