Genau
Topic test · B1

Apartment hunting test

13questions
8minutes
60%pass mark
Start the test Read the topic first

One question at a time, the clock runs. Answers stay closed like a real exam: you see every correct answer with its explanation at the end. Score 60% to finish the topic.

Topic test

13 questions, easy to hard

Pick an option and press «Next». You can go back and change it. Anything left blank counts as wrong.

The listing says: 2 Zi., 58 m², KM 620 € + NK 160 €. How much rent do you pay each month?

€780. KM + NK = WM (Warmmiete). The big number in the listing is the base rent; electricity comes on top separately.

The listing says EBK. What does that mean?

Einbauküche. In Germany flats are often rented without a kitchen, so EBK is one of the most valuable abbreviations in a listing.

Ich interessiere mich die Wohnung in der Musterstraße.

I’m interested in the apartment on Musterstraße.

für + accusative. The pattern sich interessieren für is fixed: Ich interessiere mich für die Wohnung.

By law, what is the maximum Kaution in months of base rent?

Three months of Nettokaltmiete. You also have the right to pay the deposit in three equal instalments: Kann ich die Kaution in drei Raten zahlen?

How do you start the first email to a landlord you don’t know at all?

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, — if you know the name, Sehr geehrte Frau Müller,. Using du in the first message and writing a single line drops your application down the queue.

The listing says nur mit WBS. What does that mean?

Wohnberechtigungsschein. It is required for state-subsidised flats, issued by the city and tied to your income being under a certain limit. If you have one, your first sentence is: Ich habe einen gültigen WBS.

What do you understand if the listing says “Warmmiete”?

Kaltmiete is the base rent, Warmmiete is the total including Nebenkosten. Listings often show KM; what you really pay is the WM.

What is «die Wohnungsgeberbestätigung» for?

After moving in you must register (Anmeldung) and the city office asks for this document. The landlord or the main tenant signs it.

What does «die SCHUFA-Auskunft» show in an application?

die SCHUFA is the agency that keeps credit and payment records. Landlords almost always ask for this document; for income they also ask for payslips.

Wir haben uns die Wohnung beworben.

We applied for that apartment.

sich bewerben um also applies to a flat application; in writing it is the safe choice. zu and mit need the Dativ and do not work here. sich interessieren, on the other hand, takes für — keep the two apart.

Kaltmiete is the rent that covers all costs including electricity, water and heating.

Kaltmiete is only the empty rent of the flat. The rent including service charges (Nebenkosten) is the Warmmiete.

In German, the landlord is called Ver.

What is the landlord called?

mieter. Add the prefix ver- to the verb mieten (to rent) and you get vermieten (to rent out). The landlord is der Vermieter.

Build the sentence: I would like to arrange an appointment to view the apartment.

I would like to arrange an appointment to view the apartment.

Tap the pieces to build the sentence

A basic sentence you will need to build often when looking for a flat.
Quick rules

The rules in three lines

The full topic lives on its own page. This is only the core you need for the test.

  1. KM + NK = WM

    Kaltmiete is the base rent, Nebenkosten the service charges, Warmmiete the sum of both. Build your budget on WM.

    KM 620 € + NK 160 € = WM 780 €

  2. Listing abbreviations

    Zi. is room, EBK a fitted kitchen, and WBS the social-housing certificate — if it says WBS and you have no certificate, you can’t apply.

    2 Zi., 58 m², EBK, nur mit WBS

  3. The Kaution is at most three months’ base rent

    By law the deposit cannot exceed three months’ Kaltmiete, and it can be paid in three instalments.

    Kaution: 3 Kaltmieten

  4. No folder ready, no flat

    Landlords usually ask for a SCHUFA-Auskunft, the last three Gehaltsabrechnungs and ID. After moving in, the Anmeldung is done with the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung.

    SCHUFA · Gehaltsabrechnungen · Ausweis

Traps

Commonly mixed up

Where a direct translation breaks. The hard questions come from here.

  • The listing says KM €620, so my monthly cost is €620.

    The monthly cost is the Warmmiete: €620 + NK.

    Kaltmiete does not include service charges; heating and shared costs are added on top.

  • Ich interessiere mich um die Wohnung.

    Ich interessiere mich für die Wohnung.

    sich interessieren takes für; um is the preposition of sich bewerben.

  • The Kaution was asked as six months’ rent, that’s normal.

    The Kaution can be at most three months’ base rent.

    The legal ceiling cannot be exceeded; anything above it cannot be demanded.

  • Anmeldung für die Wohnung: Der Mietvertrag reicht.

    Für die Anmeldung braucht man die Wohnungsgeberbestätigung.

    The city office wants a separate confirmation signed by the landlord.