Lesson 121 · German A1-2

Ending a Lease

Den Mietvertrag kündigen

Eventually you may need to move again - ending a German lease (Mietvertrag) has specific notice-period rules and vocabulary, extending Lesson 8's apartment-hunting set and reusing kündigen from Lesson 51.

Today's win: write a basic lease-termination notice and understand notice-period vocabulary.

Core vocabulary

der Mietvertraglease/rental contractdie Kündigungtermination notice
die Kündigungsfristnotice perioddie Wohnungsübergabeapartment handover

Quick check: what's the German word for "notice period"?

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Kündigungsfrist

The standard notice period

German residential leases typically require three months' written notice from the tenant, regardless of how long you've lived there - worth planning around well before you actually want to move:

Die Kündigungsfrist beträgt drei Monate. (The notice period is three months.)

Quick check: how many months' notice does a standard German lease typically require?

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three

Writing the notice (reusing Lesson 27's letter format)

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, (Lesson 27/112's formal opening)
hiermit kündige ich meinen Mietvertrag zum [Datum]. (I hereby give notice on my lease as of [date].)
Mit freundlichen Grüßen,

Quick check: "I hereby give notice on my lease." - Hiermit ______ ich meinen Mietvertrag.

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kündige
Try it out loud (or on paper): draft a short lease-termination letter using today's vocabulary and Lesson 27's letter structure.

Recap

1. What's the German word for "lease/rental contract"?

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Mietvertrag

2. What's the German word for "apartment handover" (the move-out inspection)?

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Wohnungsübergabe

3. Does the standard notice period depend on how long you've lived there?

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no

Primary source

Vocabulary cross-checked against the "Wohnen" topic in the Deutsch Online A1 course glossary; exact notice periods can vary by contract, worth double-checking your specific Mietvertrag.

Have a real lease you're trying to understand or terminate? Ask your teaching agent to go through it with you.