How Gewobag lets its flats

In short

1. Request the flat on gewobag.de through its form. The email „Formularbestätigung“ says your request arrived; there is nothing to confirm.
2. The draw. A random procedure picks some requests for a viewing. If you aren't drawn, the email „Neue Nachricht“ says so.
3. Book a slot from the email „Einladung zum Besichtigungstermin“, under „Termin wählen“, at once: the places are limited.
4. The viewing. Bring your ID. Gewobag lets a flat only to someone who came to its viewing.
5. Say you want the flat in the further online form Gewobag emails you by the next working day after the viewing.
6. Upload your documents online if you meet the requirements. Gewobag asks for them from its first 3 to 5 applicants only.
7. The contract. Gewobag's team chooses, then invites you to sign.

Sources: Gewobag, the way to a new flat · Gewobag's emails to an applicant, October and November 2026

Gewobag's emails and what they mean

Gewobag writes in German. Every subject ends with „Immobilienanfrage“ (property request), the flat's title and its number (Objektnummer), so the emails look alike; only the first words say what each one is:

• „Formularbestätigung“ (form confirmation): your request arrived. Nothing to do.
• „Neue Nachricht“ (new message): after your request, despite its subject, this is the no. You weren't drawn for a viewing.
• „Einladung zum Besichtigungstermin“ (invitation to a viewing): you were drawn. Book a slot at once under „Termin wählen“ (choose a time).
• „Neue Termine“ (new slots): more slots for a viewing you were invited to. Book one at once.
• „Terminbestätigung“ (slot confirmed): the day and time of your viewing, with a calendar file.
• „Terminerinnerung“ (reminder): the day before the viewing.
• „Bestätigung der Absage“ (cancellation confirmed): you cancelled your slot.

Most of them end with a link after „Hier können Sie Ihr Interesse zurückziehen“ (here you can withdraw your interest). It withdraws your request: tap it only if you no longer want the flat.

Gewobag's emails come from do-not-reply@gewobag.de. For a question, its letting service (Vermietungs-Service) is on 030 4708-4000 or at vermietung@gewobag.de, on Tuesdays 9:00 to 12:00 and Thursdays 12:00 to 15:00.

Sources: Gewobag's emails to an applicant, October and November 2026 · Gewobag, the way to a new flat

When Gewobag's flats go online

In the last 13 weeks, 665 of Gewobag's flats went online on its own website, as FlatStrike saw them, in 252 different hours: 97% of them from Monday to Friday, the most on Wednesdays (23%).

50% of those hours were between 9:00 and 15:00. Each hour counts once, however many flats went online in it. If you look for its flats yourself, look on weekdays between 9:00 and 15:00. These are past weeks, not a schedule of Gewobag's.

Source: FlatStrike, when each of Gewobag's flats first appeared on its website

1. The request

Gewobag lists its flats on gewobag.de, on ImmoScout24 and on inberlinwohnen.de, and only online. It keeps no waiting list, and it doesn't consider a request that comes by post or any other way, except in rare cases of justified need.

Read the listing closely first: it says whether the flat needs a WBS, an enrolment certificate (student homes) or a minimum age (senior homes). Gewobag's form asks about each.

„Anfrage senden“ (send a request) on the listing opens Gewobag's form, which Wohnungshelden runs for it. It asks your name and email address, your phone number and address if you like, and how many people will move in. Send no WBS yet: Gewobag asks for it later.

The email „Formularbestätigung“ follows. There is nothing to confirm in it.

Want Gewobag's new flats by email? Set up a search alert (Suchauftrag) at gewobag.de/suchauftrag.

Sources: Gewobag, the way to a new flat · Gewobag, privacy policy, section 12 · Gewobag's emails to an applicant, October and November 2026

2. The draw

Many people often ask for the same flat, so a random procedure (Zufallsverfahren) picks some of them, and Gewobag invites them to a viewing by email. It runs automatically: Gewobag's staff don't decide who is drawn.

If you aren't drawn, Gewobag writes. Its email „Neue Nachricht“ says it couldn't consider your request because so many people were interested, and that this was no decision against you. It points to gewobag.de and inberlinwohnen.de for more flats.

Each flat has its own draw: the more flats you ask for, the more draws you are in.

Sources: Gewobag, the way to a new flat · Gewobag's emails to an applicant, October and November 2026

3. Booking the viewing

If you're drawn, the email „Einladung zum Besichtigungstermin“ comes with the flat's exposé as a PDF. Pick a slot through its link „Termin wählen“. The email names no deadline, but the places are limited: book at once.

The email „Terminbestätigung“ then gives the day, the time and who shows the flat, with a calendar file. Its link „Termin ändern/absagen“ (change or cancel) changes or cancels your slot.

When Gewobag opens more slots for a flat, the email „Neue Termine“ asks you to book one without delay, again because the places are limited.

Source: Gewobag's emails to an applicant, October and November 2026

4. The viewing

Gewobag lets a flat only to someone who came to its viewing, and it holds no second viewing.

Bring an ID document. Coming for someone else? Bring their power of attorney (Vollmacht) too.

Bring no application documents: Gewobag doesn't need them at the viewing and doesn't take them.

You may film or take photos for yourself only, and not at all while someone still lives in the flat.

The day before, the email „Terminerinnerung“ gives the day and time again.

Source: Gewobag's emails to an applicant, October and November 2026

5. Saying you want the flat

By the next working day after the viewing at the latest, Gewobag emails you a link to a further online form. If you still want the flat, fill it in: it asks about your income, your creditworthiness, your rent payments and any pets you mean to keep. Gewobag's staff also check that you can sign a contract, for example that you are of age.

From these answers Gewobag sees whether you meet the requirements for the flat.

Sources: Gewobag, the way to a new flat · Gewobag, privacy policy, section 12

6. The documents

If you meet the requirements, Gewobag lets you upload your documents online. It asks for them only from the 3 to 5 applicants at the top of its list. Send all of them, and soon: Gewobag considers only complete documents for its final choice.

What it asks for:

• proof of income: your last three months' payslips, with what isn't needed blacked out, such as your religion; or a statement that a Jobcenter pays your rent, or your pension notice;
• for a flat that needs one, your WBS; for a student home, your enrolment or training certificate;
• proof that you paid your rent for the last 6 months. A certificate from your landlord (Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung) isn't required: receipts from former landlords, or blacked-out bank statements with your lease, do too;
• the part of your SCHUFA report that is meant for landlords. A negative entry alone doesn't rule you out, and you need no report if a bank or an insurer stands surety for you or an office pays your whole rent.

Have them ready as files before your first request. What a landlord may ask for, and when, is in our guide Applying for a flat.

Sources: Gewobag, the way to a new flat · Gewobag, privacy policy, section 12

7. The choice and the contract

The Gewobag team that manages the flat chooses the tenant from the answers and the documents. It weighs social aspects, economic ones and the State of Berlin's rules for housing. If it chooses someone else, that was no decision against you: many applicants are equally suited.

If you are chosen, Gewobag invites you to sign the contract and goes through your documents with you once more. It may ask to see your ID or your residence permit then.

Sources: Gewobag, the way to a new flat · Gewobag, privacy policy, section 12

Flats that need a WBS

Berlin's state-owned companies, Gewobag among them, keep 63 % of the flats they let again each year in their existing buildings for households with a WBS, and most of their new flats need one too. Each listing says whether a flat needs a WBS, and which.

You can ask for a flat while your WBS application is still open: the WBS has to be there, and valid, when the lease begins. A WBS is valid for a year. Once you get the flat, Gewobag keeps the original.

Not sure whether you'd get a WBS? Our WBS calculator works it out in a minute.

Sources: Gewobag, the WBS · Gewobag, the way to a new flat

No money, no agents

Gewobag charges no commission and works with no outside agents. Never pay anyone who offers you one of its flats: an agent acting for Gewobag may not ask you for a commission. Gewobag turns down gifts from applicants, and an offer of money or gifts can rule you out of its lettings.

Gewobag doesn't ask for documents before the viewing and doesn't send contracts to download through a link. Its emails come from do-not-reply@gewobag.de, and their links lead to gewobag.de and app.wohnungshelden.de.

Sources: Gewobag, the way to a new flat · Gewobag, flats to rent · Gewobag, warning about phishing · Gewobag's emails to an applicant, October and November 2026

Questions people ask about Gewobag

Does Gewobag ask for a SCHUFA report?

Yes, but only after the viewing, only from the 3 to 5 applicants at the top of its list, and only the part meant for landlords, which says only whether the entries are mostly positive or negative (more on this). Gewobag writes that a negative entry alone doesn't rule you out. You need no report if a bank or an insurer stands surety for you or an office pays your whole rent.

Do you need a WBS for a Gewobag flat?

Only for a flat that asks for one: each listing says whether it needs a WBS, and which, and the form asks about it (more on this). Berlin's state-owned companies, Gewobag among them, keep 63 % of the flats they let again each year in their existing buildings for households with a WBS. You don't need the WBS yet to ask for a flat: it has to be valid when the lease begins, and you send it only when Gewobag asks.

How do you apply to Gewobag, and is there a waiting list?

Online only, through „Anfrage senden“ (send a request) on its listing: it opens Gewobag's form, which Wohnungshelden runs for it; the form asks your name, your email address and how many people will move in (more on this). Gewobag keeps no waiting list, and it doesn't consider a request by post, except in rare cases of justified need.

How long does Gewobag take to answer?

Gewobag names no time for answering your request. If you aren't drawn for a viewing, it sends you the email „Neue Nachricht“ (more on this); after a viewing, it emails you the link to a further online form by the next working day at the latest (more on this).

What happens after you request a Gewobag flat?

A random procedure (Zufallsverfahren) picks some applicants for a viewing, and Gewobag invites them by email. When your „Einladung zum Besichtigungstermin“ comes, book a slot under „Termin wählen“ at once: the places are limited (more on this).

Which documents does Gewobag want?

Only after the viewing, and only from the 3 to 5 applicants at the top: your last three months' payslips (or a statement that a Jobcenter pays your rent, or your pension notice), proof that you paid your rent for the last 6 months, the part of your SCHUFA report meant for landlords and, where the flat needs one, your WBS (more on this). Gewobag asks for no documents before the viewing, and you bring none to it.

Sources: Gewobag, the way to a new flat · Gewobag, privacy policy, section 12 · Gewobag, the WBS · Gewobag, warning about phishing · Gewobag's emails to an applicant, October and November 2026