Short Answer
Listing a spare room or couch on AirBnB without specific regulatory permits and explicit landlord authorization constitutes an illegal commercial activity.
Executing unauthorized short-term vacation rentals violates federal housing laws and gives your landlord immediate grounds for a summary eviction.
What Most Expats Don't Realize
You listed your secondary bedroom on a holiday rental platform for a single weekend to generate an extra €150 toward your monthly expenses. Your building's janitor noticed unfamiliar tourists carrying luggage through the communal hallway and alerted the primary property management company right away. Because you engaged in commercial short-term subletting without authorization, the landlord terminated your lease instantly without notice, forcing you to pay €2,100 for emergency relocation and storage services.
What To Do
- Open your primary rental contract and search for the clause labeled "Gewerbliche Untervermietung" to check the explicit bans on commercial subletting.
- Delete any active accommodation listings from holiday platforms immediately to prevent neighbors from capturing digital evidence against you.
- "Ich werde die Wohnung nicht an Feriengäste untervermieten." (I will not sublet the apartment to holiday guests.) — write this formal declaration if your landlord accuses you of hosting unauthorized travelers.
The Truth
Germany’s urban municipalities strictly regulate residential zoning to prevent the loss of long-term housing stock to vacation platforms. The system enforces immediate, zero-tolerance evictions for commercial violations, stripping away standard tenant protections the moment an unapproved short-term transaction is discovered.