Short Answer
You have the absolute legal right to provide false information if a potential landlord asks about your family planning, religion, or political orientation on an application form.
German privacy laws render these invasive inquiries completely void, meaning untruthful answers cannot be used as grounds for future eviction.
What Most Expats Don't Realize
You filled out a housing questionnaire honestly and checked "yes" to a question asking if you planned to start a family in the near future. The landlord silently threw your application away to avoid future maternity protections, selecting an unmarried applicant instead. Because you did not realize you are legally allowed to lie to protect your privacy, you lost the apartment and spent an extra €1,400 on corporate housing while your search restarted.
What To Do
- Write a simple, compliant "Nein" on any application form that asks about your pregnancy status or religious background.
- Bring only your income statements and credit reports to the screening to keep the focus entirely on financial data.
- "Diese Frage ist laut Datenschutzgesetz nicht zulässig." (This question is not permissible under data protection law.) — state this if an agent verbally presses you for personal lifestyle details.
The Truth
Germany's civil code actively protects applicants by permitting outright deception when encountering legally prohibited housing questions. The system allows landlords to choose candidates arbitrarily, making strategic compliance your only functional line of defense.