Can I own property in Germany?

A citizen of Germany living abroad: Yes. A German living abroad buys like any citizen. A foreign national: Yes. No restriction on nationality or residence. The sale is a notarial deed, the buyer is entered in the land register, and transfer tax of 3.5 to 6.5 percent by state is paid; a notary can act on a notarised and apostilled Power of Attorney, so the buyer need not travel.

Who withholds tax on the rent, and how much?

No withholding at source. Yes. Rent from German property is German-source income under § 49 EStG, taxed on net rent after loan interest, depreciation, repairs and management at the progressive scale of 14 to 45 percent plus solidarity surcharge, without the basic allowance a resident gets.

How does the rent reach me in United States?

Possible but selective; most German banks want a German address, and online banks and EU banks fill the gap. Rent may equally be paid to any euro account. No exchange controls. A cross-border payment of EUR 50,000 or more is reported to the Bundesbank for statistics under § 67 AWV, by the person, not the bank; it is not a tax. No limit and no declaration for the transfer itself; the income was already reportable when earned.

Renting out property in Germany while living in United States

Germany's rules for a landlord living in United States: ownership, the rent agreement, who withholds tax, and how the rent reaches you.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and your situation may differ. Check the sources on this page and confirm with a lawyer or accountant in the country before you act.

Desk research Last reviewed 1 October 2026 Report an inaccuracy

The short answers

Can I own property in Germany?: A citizen of Germany living abroad: Yes. A German living abroad buys like any citizen.; A foreign national: Yes. No restriction on nationality or residence. The sale is a notarial deed, the buyer is entered in the land register, and transfer tax of 3.5 to 6.5 percent by state is paid; a notary can act on a notarised and apostilled Power of Attorney, so the buyer need not travel.
Does the rent agreement need registering?: Not applicable
Who withholds tax on the rent, and how much?: No withholding at source. Yes. Rent from German property is German-source income under § 49 EStG, taxed on net rent after loan interest, depreciation, repairs and management at the progressive scale of 14 to 45 percent plus solidarity surcharge, without the basic allowance a resident gets.
How does the rent reach me in United States?: Possible but selective; most German banks want a German address, and online banks and EU banks fill the gap. Rent may equally be paid to any euro account.; No exchange controls. A cross-border payment of EUR 50,000 or more is reported to the Bundesbank for statistics under § 67 AWV, by the person, not the bank; it is not a tax.; No limit and no declaration for the transfer itself; the income was already reportable when earned.

Renting out property in Germany

What applies because the property is in Germany, whoever owns it.

Who may own residential property

Who may own residential property, by audience
Citizens living in the country	Allowed Anywhere.
Residents of any nationality	Allowed Any resident, whatever their nationality, buys on the same terms as a citizen.
Citizens living abroad	Allowed A German living abroad buys like any citizen.
Foreign nationals living abroad	Allowed No restriction on nationality or residence. The sale is a notarial deed, the buyer is entered in the land register, and transfer tax of 3.5 to 6.5 percent by state is paid; a notary can act on a notarised and apostilled Power of Attorney, so the buyer need not travel.

Letting it out from abroad

May a non-resident owner let it: Yes, with no permit and no residency.
Licences, permits, landlord registration: None for a long-term let. Short-term letting needs a permit in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and other cities with a misuse ordinance.
Local agent or representative: No. A Hausverwaltung is usual for an absent owner; nothing in law requires one. The owner must be reachable for the tenant's registration confirmation.

The rent agreement

Written agreement required: In practice yes. A lease is valid orally, but under § 550 BGB a lease for more than a year must be in writing or either side can end it after the first year, so every real lease is written.
Mandatory standard form: None mandatory. Landlord associations' forms are the norm and track the many clauses courts have struck down.
Language: German. A translation may be attached; the German text governs in court.
Registry: None. Germany has no lease registry; leases are not registered, stamped or notarised.
When registration is required: Not applicable
Who registers: No one. The landlord does give the tenant a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung, the written confirmation the tenant needs to register the address at the local office within two weeks of moving in.
Registration cost: None.
If it is not registered: A fine for a landlord who refuses the registration confirmation.
Stamp duty: None.
Notarisation and witnesses: Not applicable
E-signature: Valid under the EU eIDAS regulation. A lease of more than a year needs the written form of § 550, which electronically means a qualified e-signature by both sides; a simple platform signature leaves the lease terminable after a year rather than void.
The usual term: Open-ended. Fixed terms are allowed only for stated reasons, so most leases run until one side gives notice.

Rules the agreement must respect

Deposit: Capped at three months' net cold rent under § 551 BGB, payable in three monthly instalments and held by the landlord in a separate interest-bearing account.
Rent increases: Not above the local comparative rent, by at most 20 percent in three years, 15 percent in tight markets, under § 558; a new lease in a designated area may not exceed the comparative rent by more than ten percent under the rent brake, which runs to the end of 2029. Index and graduated rents are the alternatives.
Notice periods: A tenant gives three months. A landlord needs a legal ground, most often own use, and gives three months rising to six and nine after five and eight years; the tenant can object on hardship.
Disputes: The local court. There is no deposit scheme or tribunal; a landlord recovers possession only through a court order.
Mandatory disclosures: An energy certificate shown at viewing; the operating costs the tenant pays, listed by category, if they are to be passed on.

Tax when the landlord lives abroad

Is the rent taxed here: Yes. Rent from German property is German-source income under § 49 EStG, taxed on net rent after loan interest, depreciation, repairs and management at the progressive scale of 14 to 45 percent plus solidarity surcharge, without the basic allowance a resident gets.
Withholding at source: No
Withholding rate: Not applicable
Who withholds: Not applicable
What the tenant must register: Not applicable
How to reduce it: Not applicable
Filing and tax ID: An annual return with Anlage V at the tax office for the district where the property sits, by 31 July or later with an adviser, with a German tax number issued on first filing. A sale within ten years of purchase is taxed as speculative gain.
VAT or GST on rent: None. Residential rent is exempt from VAT.
Municipal and housing fees: Property tax, reassessed under the 2025 reform, which the lease may pass on to the tenant as an operating cost.

Money inside the country

How tenants pay: SEPA transfer or standing order in euros.
Currency of rent: EUR
Bank account for a non-resident owner: Possible but selective; most German banks want a German address, and online banks and EU banks fill the gap. Rent may equally be paid to any euro account.
Paying rent to an overseas account: Allowed; any IBAN works, and SEPA covers the whole EU at domestic cost.
Taking rent out of the country: No exchange controls. A cross-border payment of EUR 50,000 or more is reported to the Bundesbank for statistics under § 67 AWV, by the person, not the bank; it is not a tax.

Living in United States

What United States asks of its residents who own and let property abroad.

Owning property abroad from here

Buying abroad: No restriction. A US person may buy property anywhere the other country allows and move money out freely.
Reporting foreign assets and accounts: Foreign bank accounts over USD 10,000 in aggregate must be reported each year to FinCEN on the FBAR, and specified foreign financial assets on Form 8938 above its thresholds. Directly held foreign real estate is not itself reportable, but the account the rent lands in is.
Tax at home on foreign rent: Taxed. US citizens and residents are taxed on worldwide income wherever they live; foreign rent goes on Schedule E and foreign tax paid on it is credited through Form 1116.
Bringing rent home: No limit and no declaration for the transfer itself; the income was already reportable when earned.
Digital identity for e-signing: There is no national digital identity. Any e-signature platform the foreign side accepts does the job, or a notarised paper signature where the other country insists.

Sources

German Civil Code (BGB) § 550: written form for a lease over one year — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
BGB § 551: the deposit cap of three months' rent — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
BGB § 556d: the rent brake in designated tight markets — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
BGB § 558: rent increases to the local comparative rent and the cap — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
BGB § 573c: notice periods — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
Income Tax Act (EStG) § 49: German-source income of non-residents — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
EStG § 50: how non-residents are assessed — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
Foreign Trade Regulation (AWV) § 67: reporting cross-border payments to the Bundesbank — www.gesetze-im-internet.de
Deutsche Bundesbank: external sector reporting — www.bundesbank.de
Federal Ministry of Finance: double taxation agreements — www.bundesfinanzministerium.de
IRS Publication 515: withholding of tax on nonresident aliens (rents, the 30 percent rule, Form W-8ECI) — www.irs.gov
IRS Publication 519: U.S. tax guide for aliens (the real property income election) — www.irs.gov
IRS: FIRPTA withholding on the sale of U.S. real property by a foreign person — www.irs.gov
IRS: how to apply for an ITIN — www.irs.gov
IRS: instructions for Form 1040-NR — www.irs.gov
IRS: the foreign tax credit — www.irs.gov
IRS: Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) — www.irs.gov
FinCEN: report foreign bank and financial accounts — www.fincen.gov
IRS: United States income tax treaties, A to Z — www.irs.gov
eCFR: 24 CFR Part 35 Subpart A, lead-based paint disclosure on sale or lease — www.ecfr.gov
GovInfo: Public Law 106-229, the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act — www.govinfo.gov
Florida Senate: SB 264 (2023), interests of foreign countries in real property — www.flsenate.gov
USDA: Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act reporting portal — www.usda.gov
California Legislature: AB 12 (2023), security deposits capped at one month — leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
Income Tax Department of India: the India–USA tax treaty — www.incometaxindia.gov.in