Renting in Luxembourg - Do's and Don'ts

Rentals in Luxembourg can be a daunting task. Renting apartments and houses can particularly be very challenging for new arrivals; especially if you're renting from remotely without having a chance to meet the owner or the agent and visit the place. We are summarising few of the top do's and don'ts while renting a place in Luxembourg.

1. Rental price: Luxembourg rentals are expensive. If its lower priced, its too good to be true. Rentals for rooms can be EUR 750-1000, studios EUR 1200-1300, one-bed room apartments EUR 1400-EUR 1800 and two bed rooms over EUR 2000. If there are rentals that are out of this price range, its too good to be true. Lot of frauds are happening in that people are asked to transfer money without seeing the apartment with the pretext of reserving the apartment. Don't fall for it.
2. Deposit: Typically 2-3 months rental is the deposit payment requirement. Remember, usually, you don't pay deposit as cash. There are two ways forward, one is a wire transfer to the owner. Two is, after signing the contract, you speak to the bank, and they create a separate account and freeze that deposit in a separate bank account. There is a fee for that deposit account, usually around EUR 100 per year. Your deposit is then returned fully or partially when you leave the flat. This way, your money is secured but you still need the house owner's okay for the money to be released after vacating the place. If anyone asks for cash, or online transfer, time to be cautious.
3. Rent through agencies or directly:Renting apartments or houses is done overwhelmingly through agencies. House owners don't want to go through the hassle of showing the apartments, doing the paper work etc. So, most of the flats and houses are rented through agencies. Rarely, house owners might rent the flats directly but it happens. Don't rent from no-name agents or agencies. Better to go to a reputable agent in order to be careful.
4. Agency fees for rentals in Luxembourg is usually 1 month rent plus VAT. This is to be paid by the person who rents the flat (not the owner). In case, just in case, if the previous tenant who's leaving the apartment introduces you to the agent, and you end up renting the flat, the agency fee is reduced by half to 0.5 rent + VAT. This is usual practice. Don't pay agency fee before finalising the rental contract.
5. Required documents: Its easy to  be surprised by the required number of documents the agencies ask for making the rental decisions. Typically, it tends to be the a) contract (permanent/CDI contracts preferred), (b) requirement that at least you have a contract for the period you want to rent, if its a fixed term contract c) Three-month salary slip d) passport or National ID.
6. Contracts are required: Normally a contract is required for proper finalisation of rental agreement; make sure you got the deposit terms, rental terms, diplomatic clause, maintenance charges are all drawn up correctly before signing. Usually the contracts are drawn up in French. We have not seen English contracts. Don't sign if you are not sure. Ask for help from others if you don't know French.
7. Pets are not always accepted. You need to explicitly agree that you can have pets. Don't misrepresent and this might come back to bite you.
8. No subletting: Most contracts have the provision of no subletting your apartment. Unless you have a nice house-owner who agrees to subletting, this is the standard practice.
9. Contract extension: Contracts are normally extended if you did not explicitly quit the contract 3 months before the end of the contract. Beware of this provision and if you intend to leave the contract, make sure you send quitting the contract message via registered post.
10. Contract quitting: Usual practice is you cannot leave the contract anytime. There is so called Diplomatic clause in the contract that allows you to quit the contract if you're leaving the country. Otherwise, most times, the only way to leave the contract is by finding a replacement for the apartment in agreement with your house owner.
11. Maintenance expenses:In addition to the monthly rent, there is usually monthly maintenance expenses that does NOT include electricity, water and TV. Electricity and water expenses particularly might be recalculated at the end of the year, and some additional amount might have to be paid if your usage has been higher.
12. Leaving chores:Leaving chores usually include repainting your apartment, deep cleaning of the apartment. Pretty much giving back the place as you received it.
13. Getting your deposit back:Getting your deposit back can take 3-4 months in usual cases. Extraordinarily it can be quicker and sometimes longer. It's usual to loose some part of your deposit. Naturally damages done, as agreed at the time of leaving the apartment, will be deducted.

Drop us an email if we are missing other important do's and don'ts. Reach us for booking consultation sessions to rentals@luxexpats.lu