Renting in Berlin made me realise just how bad we are treated in Australia

When my partner told me he wanted us to move to Berlin, I was up for it. I have German heritage, and I also like the language a lot, and the best way to learn is actually by being on the ground and practising every day.

There are plenty of benefits to living in Berlin. For one, you’re legally mandated to use all 28 days of your vacation allowance every year. While it’s definitely advised you learn German, you can get by for the most part speaking English. Another perk is the treasure trove of second-hand clothing stores here. Berliners are exquisitely stylish, and you can easily assimilate for next to nothing.

If there’s one part of all this that I really wasn’t looking forward to, it was moving house. No matter where you are in the world, this is a minefield of dodgy landlords, inflated rents, and a litany of hidden maintenance issues. Then there’s the added pain of buying furniture, setting up internet and electricity – all that once you’ve dropped a third of your life savings on the deposit. The fact that rents are soaring across much of Australia hasn’t helped.

But it turns out that the process of renting in Berlin is a world of improvement compared to what I’ve been through in Melbourne. For a start, it’s common practice to be offered a three- to five-year lease in Berlin.

Moreover, German property law allows tenants to make any changes they wish, provided everything is restored to its original condition upon moving out. You can paint the walls, put up shelves and hammer in as many nails as you want. The majority of Berlin rentals don’t even have an oven or dishwasher – it’s expected that tenants will move in with their own kitchen.

While this can be a pain – the last thing you want to do upon moving to a new country is work out how to install a brand new kitchen, in another language – it does mean you can essentially treat the property as though you own it. This is a pipe dream in Australia, where you’re scarcely allowed to Blu-Tac photos on the walls.

But possibly the best difference of all is that you avoid the misery of Australia’s policy of free-for-all property viewings. Sixty renters huddled outside an apartment block at some arbitrary time of day, only to shuffle inside rooms that were never designed to accommodate so many people.

There is no reasonable sense of space or atmosphere in these cattle round-ups, so you have to guess what it will feel like to live there once the 58 other randoms have vacated the premises. On top of that, you have to elbow your way towards the property agent to ask any questions about the place, in the 10 minutes that they’re onsite before fleeing to the next property viewing on their packed agenda.

Meanwhile, in Berlin, using the German equivalent of REA, an app called ImmoScout24, my partner and I were successful in every single apartment viewing request we submitted. We were often given next-day appointment slots, solely with the property manager or – just as frequently – the actual owner. Not only that, but we were sometimes in properties for up to half an hour, able to ask detailed questions about the buildings and the area.

This personable and accommodating process leaves you in no doubt that renters in Berlin actually possess some degree of rights. In addition, there seems to be a culture here in which landlords maintain genuine interest in who will be living in their properties.

After our inspections, we eventually struck gold and found a third-floor Altbau (an apartment in an older building) in a pretty, old-school Berlin neighbourhood. The apartment is gorgeous, with very high ceilings, light wood floorboards and a marble-top kitchen. Very fancy – although we soon realised the radiator was broken, which is a problem in winter, when the temperature frequently sits in the minus digits.

The repairman wasn’t available to fix it for a few weeks, so our landlord came to the house and dropped off a pair of brand new portable heaters to make sure we weren’t cold. In another example of that extra level of care, we asked to cut a spare front-door key, just in case we get locked out. Absolutely no issue – unlike back home, where this was forbidden – and better yet, they paid the €25 to get it cut!

Rent isn’t necessarily cheaper here in Berlin, but the cost of living is, which makes balancing your budget easier. Plus, if you want to spend a bit more here, you have access to exquisite housing with high ceilings and floor heating. In Australia, you can splash out but when you’re infinitely replaceable, there’s no reason your rental won’t still have a leaky roof and single-glazed windows.

As a renter in Australia, you are made to feel disposable, like your purpose is to satisfy someone else’s investment opportunities. Perhaps this is a reflection of Australia’s infatuation with dreams of property ownership, which is notably absent in a city like Berlin, where the majority of its inhabitants are renters.

Given the median house price in Melbourne is $980,000 and $1.8 million in Sydney – more and more Australians are never going to own a home. An alternative? A rent-controlled five-year lease here in Berlin sounds pretty good to me.

Liam Heitmann-Ryce-LeMercier is a freelance writer and classical music critic.

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