Before moving into your residence – checklist

This checklist takes you from the accommodation offer through to your first few days in the room. Your own tenancy agreement, accommodation offer and current messages from residence management remain authoritative.

Your own agreement comes first

The standard tenancy agreement for permanent residents is dated February 2026. Different agreement documents may apply to individual residences. Always check the version offered for your accommodation. ¹⁾

I have read the accommodation offer and my tenancy agreement in full.
I have checked the residence, address, tenancy start, length of stay and rent.
I have added response, acceptance and payment deadlines to my calendar.
I have confirmed moving-in day, time window, handover location and an available contact at least two weeks in advance.
I have checked delivery, transport and local access or parking information.

Do not wait until moving-in day to arrange the handover

Agree the appointment with residence management at least two weeks before moving in wherever possible. This lead time is particularly important if holidays must be taken into account or local support needs to be arranged. If your offer requires an earlier response, its deadline applies.

Residence management arranges the binding key handover. Welcome tutors can contact international students in particular before arrival and support them on moving-in day. By prior arrangement, they may also carry out the key handover themselves, for example if you arrive in the evening. They also help with questions about living and settling in, language or organisational barriers and making contacts in the residence. They do not replace a binding appointment with residence management.

Current tutors, residence-specific contacts and the general address [email protected] are listed on the official Welcome tutor programme page.

I have checked the deposit, payment method and due dates under my agreement.
I have checked personal liability and household contents insurance, including evidence.
I have planned to register my address within two weeks of moving in.
I have found the appropriate Hamburg service and checked the landlord confirmation form.
I have clarified my situation for the broadcasting contribution: private room or shared flat.

The standard agreement dated February 2026 requires personal liability and household contents insurance. Your own agreement is binding. Hamburg provides different starting points for address registration depending on where you lived previously:

As a rule, you must register your address within two weeks of moving in. The relevant Hamburg service page tells you which documents and appointment route apply in your case. The tenancy agreement does not replace the landlord confirmation form (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung). ²⁾

Understand the broadcasting contribution for a private room or shared flat

I have checked furnishings, inventory, measurements and communal appliances.
I plan to bring only equipment that I need and that is permitted locally and by my agreement.
I have saved the house rules, local moving-in information and local emergency list.
I have tested access to the tenant portal.
I have found the local internet information, registration and support route.

Furnishings, connection types and permitted electrical equipment differ. A power strip or particular appliance is therefore not something everybody must bring. Check the room description, your agreement and local documents before buying anything.

At the handover, I checked every key, access device and item on the inventory.
I documented the condition of the room and visible defects in writing and with photographs.
I reported visible defects within my agreement’s deadline (standard agreement: 14 days).
I completed address registration, the broadcasting contribution and important address changes.

The German PDF contains the same 19 points as this page and can be printed or ticked digitally.

Download the moving-in checklist (PDF, German, 2 pages, August 2026)