Rundfunkbeitrag, power and broadband – setting up your home in Germany, step by step
Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →
A new flat in Germany comes with contracts nobody explains: electricity, gas, internet, insurance and the Rundfunkbeitrag, the broadcasting fee every household pays. Here is what applies in 2026, from 24-hour supplier switching to the new deposit rules.
Setting up home in Germany means a handful of contracts and one charge you cannot avoid: the Rundfunkbeitrag (broadcasting licence fee), charged per dwelling. It is still €18.36 a month in September 2026, because the Länder (federal states) did not create the legal basis for an increase recommended for 1 January 2025. Other rules changed recently, mostly in your favour.
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2024 | Landlords may no longer bill cable TV or broadband through the Nebenkosten (service charges) |
| 6 June 2025 | Switching electricity supplier technically takes 24 hours, on every working day |
| 1 January 2026 | Gas storage levy abolished – it had last been about €58 a year for a household using 20,000 kWh |
| 1 July 2026 | Grundsicherungsgeld replaces Bürgergeld, also for Rundfunkbeitrag exemptions |
| 12 August 2026 | A new packaging law, including the deposit rules, takes over |
Source: Bundesnetzagentur, the Federal Government, the Federal Employment Agency and the Packaging Law Implementation Act, read 23 September 2026.
How do you get electricity and gas in a new flat in Germany?
No contract is needed before you switch on the lights. If you use electricity in a new flat without having signed a supply contract, a contract with the local Grundversorger (basic supplier) – the company supplying the most households in your grid area – comes into being automatically.
Grundversorgung (basic supply) is flexible: you can end it at any time with two weeks' notice. Prices are not state-approved, as each supplier sets its own tariffs, so compare. Say Anna switches on the kettle in her new Hamburg flat before choosing a supplier. She is now a basic-supply customer and can sign with another supplier the same week – but only for a future start date, never retroactively. Switching must not cost her anything extra.
The Energy Industry Act requires the technical switch to take no more than 24 hours from 1 January 2026, and the whole procedure no more than three weeks. The notice periods of your existing contract still apply, though.
| Rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Price changes | Your supplier must tell you at least one month ahead; you generally have a special right to terminate (Sonderkündigungsrecht) |
| Disconnection | Only if arrears are at least twice the monthly instalment and at least €100, after a written warning at least four weeks earlier and a further letter eight working days before – revised in December 2025 |
| Gas bills | Must show the CO2 cost in ct/kWh; in 2026 the CO2 price is market-based, within €55–65 per tonne |
Source: Bundesnetzagentur and the Federal Government, read 23 September 2026.
In 2026 transmission grid charges are subsidised with €6.5 billion, cutting household grid fees at the 15 largest grid operators by almost 2 ct/kWh on average. For a household using 3,500 kWh that can mean roughly €100, says the Federal Government, depending on your contract. Continuing the subsidy from 2027 to 2029 at €5.525 billion a year is a plan the cabinet has adopted but parliament still has to pass.
Broadband and mobile: what are the contract rules in Germany?
Internet and phone contracts fall under the Telecommunications Act. Since 1 July 2024 you pay for a cable TV or broadband connection under your own contract, with a provider of your choice or the landlord, not through the service-charge bill.
| Situation | Rule |
|---|---|
| New contract | Initial term of at most 24 months; providers must also offer one of at most 12 months |
| After the initial term | Cancel at any time with one month's notice (since 1 December 2021); online sellers must offer a cancellation button |
| You move | One month's special notice – only if the provider cannot deliver the agreed service at the new address |
| No usable connection | Right to a minimum service at your main residence: 15.0 Mbit/s down, 5.0 Mbit/s up, at most 150 ms latency, for about €35 |
| Prepaid SIM card | Identity checked before activation, for example with a passport, residence permit or Aufenthaltsgestattung (asylum seeker's permission to stay) |
Source: Bundesnetzagentur and the Telecommunications Act, read 23 September 2026.
What is the Rundfunkbeitrag and who has to pay it?
The Rundfunkbeitrag is charged per dwelling, not per person or device: €18.36 a month for adults, whether or not you own a TV or radio. A shared flat pays once.
You rarely sign up yourself. When you complete your Anmeldung (address registration) at the Bürgeramt (citizens' office), covered in part 3, the registration office notifies the ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice, which then writes to you. Most matters can be handled online; the service line is 01806 999 555 10, at 20 cents per call, Monday to Friday 7:00–19:00.
| Rundfunkbeitrag 2026 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fee per dwelling and month | €18.36 |
| Paid every three months, mid-period (the statutory rhythm) | €55.08 |
| Paid every six months | €110.16 |
| Paid once a year | €220.32 |
| Reduced fee with the RF mark, on application | €6.12 a month – one third |
Source: ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice, read 23 September 2026.
Recipients of certain state benefits, such as BAföG (student finance) or Grundsicherungsgeld, can apply for exemption, and a second home is exempt on application. People whose disability pass carries the RF mark can apply for the reduced fee. Nothing happens automatically: you have to apply.
Which home insurance do you need in Germany?
Motor liability insurance is compulsory for the keeper of any vehicle based in Germany. Personal liability and contents insurance are voluntary – but BaFin, the financial supervisor, says everyone should have Privathaftpflicht (personal liability insurance), because you are liable with your entire assets for damage you cause.
| Insurance | Status | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Privathaftpflicht (personal liability) | Voluntary, recommended by BaFin | Usually covers small pets up to house cats |
| Tierhalterhaftpflicht (animal-keeper liability) | Separate policy | Needed for dogs and horses |
| Hausratversicherung (contents) | Voluntary | Fire, storm, hail, water damage and burglary, at replacement value (Neuwert) |
| Elementarschaden (natural hazards) | Usually only an add-on to contents cover | Flood, heavy rain and other natural hazards |
Source: BaFin, read 23 September 2026.
Contents and liability policies typically run for a year and renew automatically; the usual notice period is three months before the end, and both sides may cancel after a claim. If you move within Germany, contents cover moves with you, with both homes covered for usually two months. Tell your insurer at the latest when the move starts.
How do recycling and the Pfand work in Germany?
Household waste is separated into five main streams.
| Waste | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Glass, sorted into white, brown and green | Public bottle banks |
| Paper and cardboard | Blue bin |
| Other packaging: plastic, metal, composites | Yellow bag or bin, or recycling bin – empty, no rinsing needed |
| Organic waste | Bio bin – no plastic bags, even ones labelled compostable |
| Everything else | Residual waste |
| Old clothes and bed linen | Not in residual waste since 2025 |
| Batteries, electrical appliances, hazardous products | Collection points |
Source: Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency), read 23 September 2026.
Local practice varies. In Munich (Bavaria), glass, plastic and cans currently go to public Wertstoffinseln (recycling islands); yellow bins are planned from 2027, and only residual-waste bins incur fees.
Then there is the Pfand (deposit). Since 12 August 2026 it falls under the Packaging Law Implementation Act (VerpackDG), which implements EU Regulation 2025/40. Single-use drinks containers carry a deposit of at least €0.25, refunded when you return them. Shops must take back single-use containers of the materials they sell; shops under 200 m² only the brands they sell. Wine, spirits, milk drinks and fruit juices are generally exempt – unless sold in single-use plastic bottles or cans.
What to do now
| Step | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Choose a power and gas supplier, or compare while in basic supply | When you get the keys |
| 2 | Order broadband and pick a 12- or 24-month term | Before you move in |
| 3 | Register your address; the Beitragsservice will then write to you | Within two weeks of moving in |
| 4 | Apply for a Rundfunkbeitrag exemption or reduction if you qualify | As soon as you qualify |
| 5 | Take out personal liability insurance | In your first weeks |
| 6 | Find your bins, the nearest bottle bank and a battery collection point | In your first week |
Source: Bundesnetzagentur, the Beitragsservice, BaFin and the Federal Registration Act, read 23 September 2026.
Official sources
The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.
- Bundesnetzagentur – Verbraucherportal Energie: Preise und Abschläge · bundesnetzagentur.de
- Bundesnetzagentur – Verbraucherportal Energie: Lieferantenwechsel · bundesnetzagentur.de
- Energiewirtschaftsgesetz § 36 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Energiewirtschaftsgesetz § 20a · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Bundesregierung – Abschaffung der Gasspeicherumlage · bundesregierung.de
- Bundesregierung – Bundeszuschuss für niedrigere Stromkosten / Niedrigere Netzentgelte · bundesregierung.de
- Bundesnetzagentur – Verbraucherportal Energie: Rechnungen und Sperrungen · bundesnetzagentur.de
- Telekommunikationsgesetz § 56 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Bundesnetzagentur – Verbraucherportal TK: Vertrag · bundesnetzagentur.de
- Bundesnetzagentur – Verbraucherportal TK: Anbieterwechsel und Umzug · bundesnetzagentur.de
- Bundesnetzagentur – Recht auf Versorgung mit Telekommunikationsdiensten · bundesnetzagentur.de
- Bundesnetzagentur – Kabelfernsehen für Mieterinnen und Mieter (Nebenkostenprivileg) · bundesnetzagentur.de
- Telekommunikationsgesetz § 172 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Beitragsservice – rundfunkbeitrag.de (English) · rundfunkbeitrag.de
- Beitragsservice – Informationen zur Zahlung · rundfunkbeitrag.de
- Beitragsservice – Wichtige Hinweise · rundfunkbeitrag.de
- Bundesagentur für Arbeit – Jobcenter.digital / Grundsicherungsgeld · arbeitsagentur.de
- BaFin – Haftpflichtversicherung (Verbraucher) · bafin.de
- Pflichtversicherungsgesetz § 1 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- BaFin – Hausratversicherung (Verbraucher) · bafin.de
- Umweltbundesamt – Mit richtiger Mülltrennung Ressourcen schonen · umweltbundesamt.de
- Verpackungsrecht-Durchführungsgesetz (VerpackDG) · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Abfallwirtschaftsbetrieb München (AWM) – Abfall trennen · awm-muenchen.de
Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.