Ending Your Lease as a Tenant in Germany: Notice and Form (2026)

Ending your lease as a tenant: the key fact first

As a tenant you can end an open-ended Mietvertrag (rental contract) at any time with three months' notice – no matter how long you have already lived in the flat (§ 573c Abs. 1 BGB). For the current month to count as the first of the three, your Kündigung (termination notice) must reach the landlord by the third working day of that month.

Example: if you want the tenancy to end on 31 March, the Kündigung must reach the landlord by the third working day in January.

How long is the notice period exactly?

Tenants have a fixed notice period of three months – it does not grow with the length of the tenancy (§ 573c Abs. 1 BGB). This is the key difference from the landlord: the landlord's period lengthens by three months after five years and again after eight years. For you as a tenant it always stays at three months.

The three working days at the start of the month are a short buffer (Karenzzeit) for the post. Working days are Monday to Saturday; Sundays and public holidays do not count.

What form must the Kündigung take?

Terminating a residential Mietvertrag must be done in Schriftform (written form) (§ 568 BGB). Schriftform means: a paper letter that you sign by hand with your own name (§ 126 BGB).

These are not sufficient:

• email
• WhatsApp or SMS
• fax
• a verbal notice

If more than one person is named in the Mietvertrag (for example a couple or a WG, a shared flat), all tenants must sign the Kündigung – otherwise it is invalid.

Important: What counts is not the date you send the letter, but when it reaches the landlord. You carry the risk that the Kündigung arrives in time. Send it early enough and, ideally, in a way you can prove – for example by registered mail with proof of delivery (Einwurf-Einschreiben) or with a witness if you hand it over in person.

Do I have to give a reason?

No. For an ordentliche Kündigung (ordinary termination) you as a tenant do not need to give a reason. The duty to give a reason falls only on the landlord, who must show a legitimate interest (§ 573 BGB). You simply write that you are terminating the tenancy on time at the next possible date.

When can I leave earlier or terminate without notice?

In certain cases you do not have to wait out the three-month period:

Situation	Right	Effect
Landlord raises the rent (Vergleichsmiete or Modernisierung)	Sonderkündigungsrecht (§ 561 BGB)	notice up to the end of the second month after receiving the Mieterhöhung; the contract ends at the close of that following month and the increase need not be paid
Serious defect or health hazard (e.g. mould, heating failure in winter)	Fristlose Kündigung (§§ 543, 569 BGB)	immediate termination possible – as a rule only after a warning and a deadline to remedy

For the Sonderkündigungsrecht after a Mieterhöhung, the period runs from when you receive the increase declaration. For a Fristlose Kündigung you must generally warn the landlord first and give them the chance to fix the defect – the warning may be skipped only in exceptional cases.

Common mistakes

• Missing the receipt deadline: the Kündigung arrives after the third working day – then the end of the tenancy shifts by a full month.
• Only one signature with several tenants: if two names are on the contract, both must sign.
• Terminating by email: without a signed paper letter the Kündigung is formally invalid.
• Counting the send date instead of receipt: what matters is when the landlord has the letter, not when you posted it.
• No proof: without registered mail or a witness, timely receipt is hard to prove in a dispute.

With HausMaus it's simpler

HausMaus is free for tenants and generates your Kündigung with the correct notice period under § 573c BGB – including the right end date and a ready-to-sign letter in Schriftform. A deadline tracker reminds you in good time about the third working day, so your chosen end date actually counts. That keeps your move-out from slipping by an unwanted month.