How to find an apartment in Berlin — without broker fees

Finding an apartment in Berlin often feels like a full-time job: hundreds of listings, viewings after work, application files sent into the void. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people move every year — and many apartments are never listed publicly but are passed along through personal contacts.

The advantage of local finders

Local finders — known as tipsters — know their neighbourhood inside out. They hear about available apartments before they hit the portals, know property managers and landlords personally, and can search specifically for your profile. Instead of scanning hundreds of ads yourself, you create one search order and a finder takes over.

What it costs

The finder fee is capped by law: at most two months of cold rent including VAT. A Kiezfinder always gives you a transparent price before you commission them — no hidden fees.

Tip: the more specific your search order (neighbourhood, budget, rooms, timeline), the more precisely the finder can work for you.

How to get started

• Create a search order: neighbourhood, budget, size and timeline.
• Compare finders: check profiles, reviews and response times.
• Success-based: the fee is released via escrow only after a successful match.