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Let's suppose I move out of an apartment, how long do I have to deregister the apartment in Germany?

tryst with freedom
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Abmeldung? Only if you don't move within germany!

Bundesmeldegesetz § 17 (1) provides that you have to register within 14 days of moving into a flat. The Anmeldung only is for your claimed Erstwohnsitz (primary residence), of which you only can have a single one. Any additional apartment you own would be a Zweitwohnsitz (secondary residence) or holiday home, and can not be registered - you only can have one primary residence, and it determines where you get to vote in federal elections. Secondary residences have different tax regimes to holiday homes.

(2) notes that only if you don't move into a new home in Germany you can at all perform an Abmeldung. This is an obligation and can happen at the earliest 7 days before you move out and at the latest 14 days after you leave the apartment for the last time.

If you move to a different place in Germany, your new Anmeldung will trigger a letter to the previous Meldebehörde, telling them where you are now registred at this other location and allowing them to put a close on your entry. There is a reason for this bureaucratic process that might seem like madness on first blush: Only if you move within Germany and properly register the new location each time, the government can account for your central place of living. For example, the ID papers show that address, school planning uses the first residence of youths to plan, you federally vote where you are registered and nowhere else (so that you only have one federal voting slip). And also the courts can properly notify you of lawsuits by having your latest registered location looked up.

Trish
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  • what if you have multipile apartments? How do they know where to send? – tryst with freedom Jan 17 '24 at 17:59
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    @trystwithfreedom, one would be registered as the primary residence (mostly for tax purposes). – o.m. Jan 17 '24 at 18:27
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    @trystwithfreedom you only have one Erstwohnsitz, where you are registered and have the Anmeldung. Anywhere else you are not registered, have no voting right but registered the apartment as Zweitwohnsitz (~secondary residence) – Trish Jan 17 '24 at 18:32
  • note that probably 10% or more of people living within Berlin do not follow this law due to the housing crisis and landlords providing temporary housing without giving the form which the government started requiring. – user253751 Jan 17 '24 at 19:59
  • @user253751 they live there, which you may do at a Zweitwohnsitz for 365 days a week, but they are not there gemeldet - you are gemeldet (registered) where you get your legal and official paperwork. – Trish Jan 17 '24 at 20:01
  • @Trish it's good to know that a second apartment entitles one to time travel, but I am talking about people with only one apartment which is not even theirs. (According to some definitions they are homeless although they may call a certain apartment their home and keep their stuff in it and sleep in it. Usually they are illegal sublets.) – user253751 Jan 17 '24 at 20:03
  • also the landlord is not required to give you the form if you live somewhere for less than 3 months (e.g. Zwischenmiete) – user253751 Jan 17 '24 at 20:05
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    @user253751 Neither §17 or §19 BMG say anything about a 3 month exception where the landlord is not required to give you the form. Wohnungsgeberbestätigung | Deutschland - VermieterVerein e.V.: If a tenant moves into an apartment as a subtenant [Untermiete], this does not exempt him from the obligation to register under Section 17 BMG. Consequently, the tenant who moves into an apartment as a subtenant and possibly for a fixed period of time (interim rental [Zwischenmiete]) must still register with the registration authority. – Mark Johnson Jan 18 '24 at 09:10
  • Other reasons 'for this madness' is also getting an ID or Passport, voter registration, for people with children schools, city planning and much more. So this answer is a bit one sided. – Mark Johnson Jan 18 '24 at 09:15
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    @MarkJohnson addressed that in a short edit - I chose "madness" because of the bureaucratic mess that it is. – Trish Jan 18 '24 at 09:22
  • @MarkJohnson BMG 27(2) – user253751 Jan 18 '24 at 10:02
  • @user253751 The 3 months has nothing to do with the 'landlord is not required to give you the form' or Zwischenmiete. §27 (2) - Exceptions to the registration requirement For persons who otherwise live abroad and are not registered pursuant to Section 17 (1), this obligation shall apply after three months have elapsed. – Mark Johnson Jan 18 '24 at 10:16
  • @user253751 and: "Anyone who is registered in Germany pursuant to Section 17 or 28 and moves to a residence for a stay of no more than six months shall not be required to register or deregister at this [already registered] residence." - if you move out you have to register your Zwischenmiete. – Trish Jan 18 '24 at 11:08