Short Answer
You are not legally obligated to purchase the existing kitchen from a departing tenant, but refusing to do so will usually cause them to reject your application.
Previous tenants frequently utilize the sale of their kitchen fixtures as a financial barrier to filter out uncooperative applicants.
What Most Expats Don't Realize
You applied for an apartment and refused to pay the departing tenant's €2,500 demand for their five-year-old kitchen counters. The departing tenant immediately crossed your name off the candidate list and recommended an applicant who agreed to the full price without hesitation. Because you treated the kitchen offer as a flexible negotiation instead of a hidden selection fee, you lost the apartment and had to pay €700 for another month of temporary storage.
What To Do
- Ask the departing tenant for the original purchase receipts to calculate the real depreciation value of the furniture.
- Bring an experienced friend to look at the plumbing and electrical connections of the installed appliances before agreeing to a price.
- "Ich übernehme die Küche für den vereinbarten Preis." (I will take over the kitchen for the agreed price.) — write this statement to the current tenant to secure their recommendation to the landlord.
The Truth
Germany’s structural housing scarcity allows departing tenants to act as unofficial gatekeepers for rental properties. The system permits outgoing residents to leverage their built-in furniture to extract premiums from desperate seekers, effectively turning furniture purchases into a mandatory entry fee.