You can get your housing entitlement certificate from the City of Hannover.
City of Hanover - Department of Urban Renewal and Housing Housing supply, housing agency and housing entitlement certificates Sallstraße 16, 30171 Hanover Tel. (05 11) 1 68-4 38 58
Landlords can take a rent deposit when they rent out an apartment or room. This is an amount of money that they use as security to cover any outstanding debts or possible damage to the apartment after the end of the tenancy. If there are no outstanding debts or damages when you move out, you get the deposit back. According to the law, the rent deposit may not exceed three net cold rents. If the landlord or landlady demands more than three net cold rents as a deposit, you do not have to pay the excess amount. A rent deposit only has to be paid if the amount, type and method of payment are expressly agreed in the tenancy agreement.
If you have signed a SEPA direct debit mandate, we will debit the deposit together with your first month's rent and the one-off processing fee.
If you have not signed a SEPA direct debit mandate, you must have transferred the deposit to the Studentenwerk Hannover by the beginning of the tenancy at the latest. If you pay in cash or by bank transfer, you can divide the deposit into three equal instalments. You then pay these off with the first three months' rent. You are entitled to pay in instalments, but you have to inform us about this beforehand.
If you do not pay the rent deposit, we are entitled to terminate the tenancy without notice. A prior warning is not required.
Prerequisites for termination without notice:
- The payment of a rent deposit was expressly agreed in the tenancy agreement.
- The tenant is at least two months in arrears with the payment of the deposit.
- The reason for termination must be explicitly stated in the termination letter.
If you pay the rent deposit in arrears, this can, under certain circumstances, lead to the termination becoming invalid.
You will usually get your deposit back around eight to ten weeks after your contract ends. However, we may hold your tenancy deposit for six to twelve months to check if there are any outstanding debts. Outstanding debts may include:
- Arrears with the rent payment (net cold rent).
- Arrears with the payment of service charges (operating costs)
- Damage to the living space caused intentionally or unintentionally by improper handling that must be repaired
- Agreed cosmetic repairs (this also includes final cleaning) were not carried out before moving out.
If there is an outstanding debt or damage has occurred after the end of the tenancy, we may retain part or even all of the rent deposit.
When you register or deregister with the Residents' Registration Office (Einwohnermeldeamt) or the Citizens' Registration Office (Bürgeramt), you must present a written confirmation from your landlord or landlady confirming that you have moved in or out.
Attention! If you do not do this, it can be expensive for you. Failure to do so is considered an administrative offence and can result in a fine of up to 1000 €!
So: It is better to bring the certificate along with your passport or identity card to the office for re-registration!
The broadcasting fee is not about whether you actually own a radio, television or similar, but about the fact that you can theoretically receive all channels of the "ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice", i.e. the technical requirements are met. These are already given with an internet-capable mobile phone. Every household is obliged to pay this contribution.
All persons over the age of 18 who are tenants or owners of an apartment and are registered there must pay. The nationality of the tenants is irrelevant. There are no special regulations for foreign students, not even for scholarship holders or students in exchange programs (e.g. Erasmus). You also have to pay for apartments that are only registered as secondary residences, since the fee is not paid per person, but per apartment.
Rooms of a "corridor community" - i.e. single rooms with floor kitchens and floor bathrooms as well as a floor access door - are generally assessed by the Contribution Service as one apartment each that is subject to contributions.
Rule of thumb: If rooms in a student hall of residence are designed in such a way that they resemble those of a private apartment or shared apartment, only one contribution is to be paid in each case! We recommend that you first declare the respective floor as only one apartment.
With the flat-based levy, no one can now "avoid" paying. You would have to prove yourself that you do not even have the possibility to receive radio. As a rule, this is not possible and you have to pay the contribution if you are not exempt.
Deliberate or negligent non-payment is considered an administrative offence and can be punished with a fine!
