Apartments don’t come with kitchens in Germany

“What!? How can an apartment not come with a kitchen?” Is the exact reaction I had when I first found out that German apartments do not necessarily come with a kitchen. I mean, really, how is that even possible? It’s like the bathroom coming without anywhere to wash, or like a friend of mine said, having a two-floor house, but you have to buy the stairs before going up to the first floor. Well, welcome to Germany!

Why are there no kitchens?

So let me explain: German landlords are not obliged to fit kitchens in apartments before renting them out.

Pros:

• Lower rent
• You can choose your own kitchen

Cons:

• It takes a lot of time
• It costs a lot of money
• You might not want to invest in a nice kitchen for somewhere you’ll only be short-term.
• You’ll be kitchen-less for weeks, or sometimes months

So yes, you can say “hello” to takeaways and eating out during a time that you’re trying to save money, rather than spend i,t as you head to Ikea AGAIN.

EBK

If you don’t want the above hassle (btw, I opted for the perfect location, and a newly renovated apartment plus kitchen hassle) then I’d suggest you look for an EBK during your flat hunt. An Einbauküche (EBK) means that the apartment actually comes with a kitchen – so luxury. However you can of course expect slightly higher rent.

Kitchen Culture

It’s important to be aware that there’s a very big buying culture in the UK, compared to Germany where people will rent apartments for years, sometimes decades. Therefore buying your own kitchen can be nice as you get to have it exactly as you’d like it to be. Also, if you do decide to leave, you can either bring your kitchen with you (weird, I know) or sell it on to the next tenant or your landlord. If you’re living in Frankfurt, where there is a high demand for apartments, then this shouldn’t be too hard.

But yes, just be prepared for kitchen-less kitchens during your flat hunt in Germany. After hours of kitchen hunting, both in shops and online, I opted for OBI in the end!