Talking to Your Landlord in German: Repairs and Emails

Talking to your landlord in German is easier when you know the order of the conversation: identify your flat, describe the problem, explain how urgent it is and agree on the next step. You do not need to diagnose a broken heating system or give a speech about tenancy law.

This guide gives you the language for a repair call, a follow-up email and the awkward moment when someone asks a question you did not expect. The examples use formal Sie, the safest starting point with a landlord or property management office. Replace the sample names, address and availability with your own details.

Landlord in German: who should you contact?

Der Vermieter or die Vermieterin means “landlord”. This is the person or organisation renting the property to you. Der Mieter and die Mieterin mean “tenant”.

Die Hausverwaltung means “property management”. It may be a company or an office handling matters for the landlord, including repair reports and correspondence. If your tenancy documents name a management office as your contact, start there rather than trying to reach the owner personally.

Der Hausmeister is the caretaker. A caretaker may inspect a problem, deal with building equipment or arrange access. Do not assume they can approve every repair or decide who pays for it.

Check your tenancy documents and any building noticeboard for the designated repair contact. There may be separate details for out-of-hours problems. Who handles what depends on the building’s arrangements.

Use Sie, Ihnen and Ihr unless the person offers du. In a formal email, address a named contact with Sehr geehrte Frau Schneider, or Sehr geehrter Herr Schneider,. If you do not know who will read it, Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, is a standard formal opening.

Before you call: prepare facts, not a diagnosis

Write down your address, floor, the affected room, what you can observe and when you first noticed it. Keep your tenancy or customer reference nearby if you have one.

“The living-room radiator stays cold” is more useful than “the whole system is broken” if you have only checked one radiator. Say whether other rooms are affected and whether the problem is continuing.

Distinguish an appointment request from an urgent situation. Water actively coming through a ceiling needs prompt attention, not just an email left unread. Use the building’s emergency number if there is one. If there is immediate danger, call 112 rather than waiting for an office reply. Keep away from water near electrical fittings.

For a non-emergency, ask who will authorise the work before booking a contractor yourself. Reporting a fault, arranging access and commissioning a repair are separate steps.

Take photos where useful and safe. They help document visible damage, but a photo alone may not explain what happened. Add a short written description.

The main phrases for a repair report

Use these as building blocks rather than trying to memorise everything. One opening sentence, a clear description and a question about the next step are enough to begin. The address and times are examples.

Opening the call and checking responsibility

Explaining exactly what is wrong

Arranging the visit and confirming the next step

A repair call, from the first sentence to an appointment

A useful call has a simple shape: introduction, problem, questions, next step. Keep your notes in front of you. You can read your first sentence aloud; there is no need to apologise repeatedly for your German.

First, describe the heating problem

You: Guten Tag, hier spricht Alex Morgan. Ich wohne in der Gartenstraße 12, im zweiten Stock links.

Hello, this is Alex Morgan. I live at Gartenstraße 12, on the second floor, on the left.

Property manager: Was genau funktioniert nicht?

What exactly isn’t working?

You: Der Heizkörper im Wohnzimmer wird seit gestern Abend nicht mehr warm.

The living-room radiator hasn’t been getting warm since yesterday evening.

Property manager: Sind die anderen Heizkörper auch betroffen?

Are the other radiators affected too?

You: Nein, in den anderen Zimmern wird es warm.

No, the other rooms are warming up.

Property manager: Ich gebe das an die zuständige Firma weiter.

I’ll pass that on to the company responsible.

Listen for questions beginning with Seit wann …? (“Since when …?”), Wo genau …? (“Where exactly …?”) and Sind Sie …? (“Are you …?”). These usually ask for one specific detail, not a long explanation.

Notice that “I’ll pass it on” is not an appointment. Before ending the call, establish whether the contractor will contact you or whether you must contact them.

Then agree on access

Property manager: Die Firma könnte am Donnerstag zwischen neun und elf Uhr kommen.

The company could come on Thursday between nine and eleven.

You: Da bin ich leider nicht zu Hause. Wäre ein Termin am Nachmittag möglich?

Unfortunately, I won’t be home then. Would an afternoon appointment be possible?

Property manager: Ich frage bei der Firma nach.

I’ll check with the company.

You: Danke. Bitte bestätigen Sie mir den Termin per E-Mail, sobald er feststeht.

Thank you. Please confirm the appointment by email once it is definite.

Repeat important details back, especially dates, time windows and telephone numbers. If the appointment is still provisional, do not treat it as confirmed. You can follow the call with a short email summarising what you understood.

Reporting mould or water damage without guessing the cause

For Schimmel (“mould”), describe its location and what you can see: the bedroom wall, a corner beside the window or an area behind furniture. Add when you noticed it and whether the surface feels damp. Photos can help show the extent of the visible problem.

For Wasserschaden (“water damage”), distinguish between existing staining and water that is still entering the flat. That difference matters for the response. Say whether water is dripping, flowing or no longer coming through.

You do not need technical vocabulary for pipes, insulation or heating controls to make an initial report. Everyday observations are useful. Avoid presenting a guessed cause as a fact, and do not agree to an explanation you have not understood simply to finish the conversation.

If someone gives instructions you cannot follow confidently, ask for them in writing. A language misunderstanding is a good reason to pause and clarify, especially when equipment or safety is involved.

Reporting a problem in writing: an email you can adapt

A defect report is commonly called a Mängelanzeige. Tenants are generally expected to report defects promptly, and a written report creates a record of what you reported and when. It does not need complicated legal language.

For an urgent problem, make the appropriate call first and follow up in writing. For correspondence generally, use the contact channel named in your tenancy documents and keep copies. If you use registered post (Einschreiben), keep a copy of the letter as well as any delivery record.

Here is a straightforward email for a radiator that is not heating up:

Betreff: Heizung ohne Funktion, Gartenstraße 12, 2. OG links

Sehr geehrte Frau Schneider,

in meiner Wohnung in der Gartenstraße 12, 2. OG links, funktioniert seit Montagabend die Heizung im Wohnzimmer nicht. Der Heizkörper bleibt kalt, obwohl das Thermostat aufgedreht ist. Die anderen Heizkörper funktionieren.

Bitte veranlassen Sie eine Überprüfung und teilen Sie mir mit, wann ein Termin möglich ist. Am Donnerstag bin ich ab 14 Uhr zu Hause. Falls ein anderer Termin nötig ist, stimmen Sie diesen bitte vorher mit mir ab.

Bitte bestätigen Sie den Eingang dieser Nachricht.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Alex Morgan

In English:

Subject: Heating not working, Gartenstraße 12, second floor left

Dear Ms Schneider,

The heating in the living room of my flat at Gartenstraße 12, second floor left, has not been working since Monday evening. The radiator stays cold even though the thermostat is turned up. The other radiators work.

Please arrange an inspection and let me know when an appointment is possible. I’ll be home from 2 p.m. on Thursday. If you need to come at a different time, please arrange it with me in advance.

Please confirm receipt of this message.

Kind regards,

Alex Morgan

Only include observations that are true in your case. 2. OG means zweites Obergeschoss, the second floor above ground level. Acknowledging receipt of an email is not the same as confirming a repair appointment, so keep those requests distinct.

Following up when nothing has happened

If there is no response, refer to your earlier message rather than starting the whole story again. Give its date, repeat the current problem and ask for a concrete update. How urgently you need to act depends on the defect and the circumstances; there is no single follow-up timetable that fits every repair.

You: Ich habe Ihnen wegen der Heizung geschrieben, aber bisher keine Antwort bekommen.

I wrote to you about the heating, but I haven’t received a reply yet.

Property manager: Wann haben Sie die Nachricht geschickt?

When did you send the message?

You: Am Montag. Der Heizkörper im Wohnzimmer bleibt weiterhin kalt.

On Monday. The living-room radiator is still cold.

Property manager: Ich prüfe den Vorgang und melde mich bei Ihnen.

I’ll check the case and get back to you.

Ask when you can expect an update, and note the answer. Keep a record of calls, emails, photos and agreed appointments. If you are having ongoing problems with your landlord in Germany, a clear timeline is more useful for an adviser than a folder of messages with no explanation.

German landlord responsibilities: who pays for repairs?

As a general rule, the landlord is responsible for keeping the rented property in a condition suitable for its agreed use. That does not mean every repair bill is automatically theirs, or automatically yours.

Responsibility can depend on the cause of the damage and the tenancy agreement. Some contracts contain a Kleinreparaturklausel, a small-repair clause. Its wording and validity matter; the fact that a repair seems minor does not by itself settle who pays. Check your contract and get advice if you are unsure.

Nebenkosten are service and utility charges on top of the basic rent, and the Nebenkostenabrechnung is the annual statement that settles them. A repair is not automatically your responsibility merely because you pay Nebenkosten.

If you receive a disputed bill, ask what it covers and on what basis you are being charged. For individual advice, contact a local Mieterverein, a membership-based tenants’ association, or a qualified legal adviser.

Mietminderung, rent reduction because of a defect, exists in German tenancy law, but how much (if anything) applies depends on the case. Get advice from a Mieterverein or a lawyer before paying less rent; reducing it by too much can put you in arrears. The same goes for questions about your Kaution (deposit). This guide gives you language and general background, not legal advice.

Common English-speaker mistakes

These small changes make your German clearer without making it elaborate.

• “Ich bin kalt” is not the usual way to say you feel cold. Say “Mir ist kalt.” For a repair report, “In der Wohnung ist es kalt” (“It’s cold in the flat”) gives the listener more relevant information.
• “Ich will …” can sound blunt in a request. It is grammatically correct, but “Könnten Sie bitte eine Reparatur veranlassen?” (“Could you please arrange a repair?”) is a better default with a landlord. Polite wording does not prevent you from being firm about the problem.
• Bekommen does not mean “become”. “Ich habe Ihre Nachricht bekommen” means “I received your message”. For “It’s getting colder”, use “Es wird kälter.”
• Eventuell means “possibly”, not “eventually”. “Können Sie eventuell heute jemanden schicken?” asks whether they could possibly send someone today. It does not mean they can send someone at some unspecified later point.
• A Termin is an appointment, not necessarily a deadline. “Wir brauchen einen Termin” means “We need an appointment”. Listen carefully when someone is discussing scheduling rather than the date by which work will be completed.

You can use short sentences throughout. A precise description in simple German is better than an impressive sentence that leaves the actual fault unclear.

Rehearse the answers, not just your opening line

Before calling, practise saying your address, the room, the problem and when it started. Then rehearse answers to three likely questions: Are other rooms affected? When are you home? How can the contractor reach you?

If you understand the questions but cannot get your answer out quickly, practise with the cue first and the German answer second. The guide to understanding a language but struggling to speak explains that gap in more detail.

Keep a small note beside you during the call: address, problem, since when, access, next step. Your aim is not flawless German. It is to leave both sides clear about what is wrong and what happens next.