By Daniel Schulz, residir GmbH · Last updated: 13 October 2026
The Wohnungsgeberbestätigung (landlord’s confirmation of residence) is your landlord’s proof that you have actually moved into a flat. Under Section 19 of the Bundesmeldegesetz (BMG, Federal Registration Act), the Wohnungsgeber (the person providing the accommodation) must issue it within two weeks of you moving in, and you need it to register at the Bürgerbüro (citizens’ office). If it is missing or incorrect, the Wohnungsgeber faces a fine of up to €1,000.
Our building on Ländstraße in Lehel is designed for guests who come to Munich for a few weeks or months. During stays like these, the question of the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung usually comes up in the first week. Here you will find what belongs on the form, who signs it and what applies in a sublet, a boarding house or a temporary furnished flat. This article is not legal advice; in individual cases, the Meldebehörde (registration office) decides.
In this article:
- What is a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung?
- Who is the Wohnungsgeber?
- What does a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung look like?
- Form and template in Munich
- Deadline and timing
- Registering without a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung
- Fines under Section 54 BMG
- Common mistakes
- Conclusion
- Frequently asked questions
| Question | Quick answer |
|---|---|
| Legal basis | Section 19 Bundesmeldegesetz (Federal Registration Act, cooperation of the Wohnungsgeber) |
| Who issues it | The Wohnungsgeber: landlord, property management company, the main tenant in a sublet, or you yourself if you own the property |
| Deadline | 2 weeks after moving in |
| Mandatory details | Wohnungsgeber, owner if different, address, move-in date, names of the people moving in |
| Form | in writing or electronically |
| Munich form | PDF from the City of Munich or online via the Bürgerservice-Portal (citizen services portal) |
| Fine | up to €1,000 (missing, incorrect, late), up to €50,000 (sham registration) |
What is a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung?
So what exactly is a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung? A short document in which the Wohnungsgeber confirms to the registration office that a specific person moved in on a specific day. Lawmakers reintroduced it in 2015 with the Federal Registration Act to make sham registrations more difficult. A tenancy agreement does not replace it.
In everyday use, the document often goes by other names: Wohnungsgeberbescheinigung, Vermieterbestätigung or Vermieterbescheinigung (landlord’s certificate). For registration purposes, they all mean the same thing. Just be careful with a Vermieterbescheinigung for the Jobcenter or the housing benefit office: that is a different form with details of the rent and service charges.
The confirmation is needed every time you register at a new address, including when you move within Munich. How appointments, documents and online registration work is explained in our guide to Anmeldung in Munich. Here, we focus only on the confirmation itself.
Who is the Wohnungsgeber? Subtenants, parents, owners
Who is the Wohnungsgeber? The law means the person who actually provides you with the accommodation. That is not always the owner. Only the Wohnungsgeber or a person they have authorised, such as the property management company, may issue the confirmation (Section 19(1) BMG).
Subtenants and “my girlfriend is moving in”
For a subtenant’s Wohnungsgeberbestätigung, the main tenant is the Wohnungsgeber. They fill in the form and also enter the owner’s name and address. The same applies if your girlfriend or partner moves into your rented flat: you, as the tenant, issue the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung, and the landlord does not need to sign it.
Whether the landlord has to consent to the sublet is a question of tenancy law, not registration law. Clarify this before moving in so that registration does not become a point of dispute.
Parents, family members and owners
If children move back in with their parents or other family members join the household, the parents issue the confirmation as the Wohnungsgeber. A parental Wohnungsgeberbestätigung is no different from the normal form.
For owners it is simpler: if you move into your own flat or house, you confirm the move yourself. The City of Munich expressly points out that owners also fill in the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung for themselves. Even a move within the same building requires a new confirmation.
Boarding houses, temporary furnished flats and workers’ accommodation
If you move into one of the furnished apartments in Munich let on a temporary basis with a tenancy agreement, you get the confirmation from the landlord or management company, as with any other flat. Whether the contract is fixed-term makes no difference; what counts is that you have actually moved in.
In a boarding house or hotel, special rules for Beherbergungsstätten (accommodation establishments) apply: the obligation to register only arises after more than six months, or after three months if you have no registered address in Germany. Once registration is due, the operator is the Wohnungsgeber. In a boarding house in Munich like ours in Lehel, residir GmbH then issues the confirmation.
The situation is similar for tradespeople on assignment. If the employer books workers’ accommodation in Munich for a few weeks, registration is usually not necessary as long as the home address remains registered. If the team stays longer, ask the operator for the confirmation early on.
Arrive first, then search at your own pace
From autumn 2027, we will be letting 54 furnished apartments with their own kitchen, washing machines and fast Wi-Fi at Ländstraße 6 in Lehel, just a few minutes’ walk from Lehel U-Bahn (underground) station. If you want to bridge a few weeks or months after your move, you can already enquire with us about temporary housing in Munich.
What does a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung look like?
What a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung must contain is set out in Section 19(3) BMG. There is no prescribed layout; an informal letter is sufficient as long as it includes all the mandatory details:
- Name and address of the Wohnungsgeber
- Name of the owner, if the Wohnungsgeber is not the owner
- Type of event requiring registration (moving in) with the move-in date
- Address of the flat
- Names of all people moving in who are required to register
Add the date and a signature. The cities’ official forms also include a notice about the fines, so they are usually a better template than a self-made one. When you fill in a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung, pay particular attention to the move-in date and the spelling of names, as both are checked against your ID.
Wohnungsgeberbestätigung in Munich: form, template and PDF
The Wohnungsgeberbestätigung for Munich is available as a PDF directly on stadt.muenchen.de; search for “Wohnungsgeberbestätigung”. The city’s form is also the simplest PDF template: fill it in on screen as an editable PDF or print it out as a blank form. Other towns and municipalities in Bavaria have their own forms, but the content is the same because federal law specifies the details.
The tenant usually brings the confirmation to the appointment at the Bürgerbüro. In Munich, however, the Wohnungsgeber can also submit it themselves, by post to the Bürgerbüro on Ruppertstraße or by email. The responsible authority is the Kreisverwaltungsreferat (KVR, the city’s administrative department for public order and registration).
Submitting the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung online
It can be submitted electronically via the Bürgerservice-Portal in the BayernPortal. For this, the Wohnungsgeber needs a German ID card, an eID card or an electronic residence permit with the online ID function activated, plus a BayernID account registered with that ID. After submitting, they receive a reference code (Zuordnungsmerkmal), which they pass on to the tenant (Section 19(4) BMG). The Bürgerbüro uses it to find the confirmation when you register.
Word templates or samples from property portals are permitted, provided all mandatory details are included. If you are searching for a Vermieterbescheinigung for the Einwohnermeldeamt (residents’ registration office), you mean the same document. Using the official form “zur Vorlage bei der Meldebehörde” (for submission to the registration office) saves you follow-up questions at the Bürgerbüro.
Deadline: two weeks after moving in
Under Section 17(1) BMG, you must register within two weeks of moving in. The same deadline applies to the confirmation: the Wohnungsgeber must confirm the move within these two weeks. They are entitled to ask the registration office whether you have actually registered.
Can the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung be issued before you move in? In practice, many landlords sign it at the key handover, and that is also the best time. However, the actual move-in date is entered, and you can only register once you have moved in.
For short stays, the deadline often does not apply at all. If you are already registered in Germany and use an additional residence for no more than six months, you generally do not need to register there. How this works for accommodation establishments and how a boarding house differs legally from a flat is explained in our article What is a boarding house?.
If you move out to another address within Germany, you do not need a separate confirmation. You register at your new address, and deregistration at the old one happens automatically.
Registering without a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung
Registering without a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung is possible in Munich, but only if you submit it later. If you do not have the confirmation at your appointment, you sign a declaration at the Bürgerbüro that you will submit it within two weeks. The city provides a dedicated form for this, which includes the template for the Wohnungsgeber on its second page.
If the landlord refuses to provide the confirmation or it does not arrive in time for other reasons, you must inform the registration office without delay (Section 19(2) BMG). So do not simply skip registering. The Bürgerbüro can request the information from the Wohnungsgeber itself.
Incidentally, a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung without a tenancy agreement is not a problem. Whether you move in with friends, live with your parents or in a flatshare without your own contract: what is confirmed is the move, not the tenancy.
Fines under Section 54 BMG
The Federal Registration Act has two levels. A fine of up to €1,000 applies if the Wohnungsgeber fails to issue the confirmation, issues it incorrectly or issues it late. The same upper limit applies to tenants who fail to register or register late.
Sham registrations are considerably more expensive. Anyone who offers or provides an address for registration even though nobody is moving in or intends to move in risks a fine of up to €50,000 (Section 19(6) in conjunction with Section 54 BMG). According to its form, the authority in Munich can also initiate proceedings for a coercive penalty (Zwangsgeld) if the confirmation is missing.
These are maximum amounts. How much is payable in an individual case is decided by the authority.
Common mistakes with the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung
- Bringing the tenancy agreement instead of the confirmation: the contract is not enough at the Bürgerbüro.
- Owner missing: for a sublet or a property management company, the owner’s name must also be on the form.
- Wrong date: the actual move-in date is entered, not the start of the contract.
- Not everyone listed: children and partners who move in with you must also be on the confirmation.
- Waiting too long: if you only ask for the confirmation after several weeks, you will miss the two-week deadline.
Another mistake concerns business trips. For a short business trip, for example with accommodation for Messe Munich for a few nights, there is no obligation to register. By contrast, people living in a serviced apartment for months often assume they never need to register. From six months, or from three months if you have no registered address in Germany, that changes.
Whether accommodation counts as an accommodation establishment or as a flat depends on the contract. A boarding house with an accommodation contract is treated differently from a flat with a tenancy agreement; we explain how this compares with an aparthotel in our separate guide What is an aparthotel?.
Conclusion: ask for it at the key handover
The Wohnungsgeberbestätigung is a form with five mandatory details that the Wohnungsgeber must issue within two weeks: the main tenant in a sublet, or you yourself if you own the property. If you are only living in Munich temporarily, for example in one of our holiday apartments in Munich in Lehel, it is best to clarify the registration requirement before you arrive.
Frequently asked questions about the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung
What is a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung?
The Wohnungsgeberbestätigung is the Wohnungsgeber’s written or electronic confirmation that a person has moved into a flat. It is mandatory under Section 19 of the Federal Registration Act and is needed to register with the registration office.
Who issues the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung?
The Wohnungsgeberbestätigung is issued by the Wohnungsgeber, usually the landlord, the property management company or, in a sublet, the main tenant. If you move into a flat you own, you confirm the move yourself.
By when must the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung be provided?
The Wohnungsgeber must confirm the move within two weeks of you moving in. This is the same deadline that applies to your registration.
Where can I get the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung form in Munich?
The City of Munich provides the form as a PDF on stadt.muenchen.de. The Wohnungsgeber can also submit the confirmation online there via the Bürgerservice-Portal; for this, they need an ID with the online ID function.
Can I register without a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung?
Yes, in Munich you can register without the confirmation, but you must submit it within two weeks. If the landlord refuses to provide the confirmation, you must inform the registration office without delay.
Does a subtenant need a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung?
Yes, subtenants are also required to register and need a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung. It is issued by the main tenant, who, as the Wohnungsgeber, also states the owner’s name.
What fine applies without a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung?
If the Wohnungsgeber fails to issue the confirmation, issues it incorrectly or issues it late, they face a fine of up to €1,000. Anyone who provides an address for a sham registration risks up to €50,000.
Daniel Schulz · Managing Director of residir GmbH
He has eight years of experience letting and managing serviced apartments and has looked after more than 80,000 guest stays. More about Daniel Schulz