Short Answer
You are only required to paint the walls of your apartment if your rental contract contains a legally flawless renovation clause. Many standard pre-printed leases feature rigid timetables that have been completely invalidated by federal court rulings.
What Most Expats Don't Realize
You read a clause stating the flat must be fully repainted every three years and spent your final weekend buying premium white paint and rollers. The landlord rejected your amateur paint job anyway and hired a commercial decorating company, deducting the entire invoice from your security holdback. You lost €1,400 on professional painter fees for a clause that was completely unenforceable under German tenancy law.
What To Do
- Email your complete rental contract to a tenant protection attorney before buying any renovation supplies.
- Book a moving inspection to establish if you can simply leave the apartment in a broom-clean state.
- "Diese Renovierungsklausel ist laut BGH-Urteil ungültig." (This renovation clause is invalid according to the Federal Court of Justice ruling.) — say this to your landlord when they demand a full cosmetic overhaul at checkout.
The Truth
Landlords try to keep the renovation burden on tenants to save money. However, German courts have been very pro-tenant on this issue, striking down many old-school contract clauses.