Europe
Student accommodation regulation in Germany (2026)
Germany has no student residence act. It has one sentence in the Civil Code, section 549(3) of the BGB, which takes housing in a "Studenten- oder Jugendwohnheim" out of several tenant protections: the rent brake and the rent increase rules do not apply, and the landlord needs no statutory ground to terminate. Everything else —the building, the data authority, the Studierendenwerke— is decided by each Land. Here are the sections, with the text in front of you.
The short answer
Germany has no federal student residence act. The contract is the residential tenancy of the Civil Code (BGB), with an exception made to measure; the building depends on each Land, and the data on the GDPR —called DSGVO there— and the BDSG.
| What | Rule | Who applies it |
|---|---|---|
| Legal figure | Studenten- oder Jugendwohnheim (section 549(3) BGB) | The civil courts, case by case |
| Contract | Residential tenancy under the BGB, with the exceptions in section 549(3) | The Amtsgericht (local court), with exclusive jurisdiction (section 23 GVG) |
| Building | Each Land's Bauordnung; for example, section 50(2) BauO NRW | The Land building authority (Bauaufsichtsbehörde) |
| Data | DSGVO and the BDSG | The Land data protection authority (section 40 BDSG) |
| AI | Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Art. 50 | The market surveillance authority each State designates (Art. 70) |
| Whistleblowing channel | Section 12 HinSchG, with 50 or more employees | The employer itself, through its internal channel |
Official sources consulted on 19 Oct 2026.
What they are called: Wohnheim, Studierendenwerk and private operator
The law speaks of a Studenten- oder Jugendwohnheim, a student residence or youth residence, and does not define it. On the public side are the Studierendenwerke, created by each Land's own act. In North Rhine-Westphalia they are public-law bodies ("rechtsfähige Anstalten des öffentlichen Rechts", section 1 StWG NRW) that provide social and economic services to students (section 2(1)) and run their "Wohnheime" (residences) so that income covers costs, without profit (section 11(1)).
On the private side are the operators of PBSA, purpose-built student accommodation. Whether the operator is public or private does not change the contract: section 549(3) looks at the building, not at who runs it.
The contract: a BGB tenancy, with less protection
The resident signs a residential tenancy (Mietvertrag über Wohnraum). What sets it apart fits in one sentence:
Für Wohnraum in einem Studenten- oder Jugendwohnheim gelten die §§ 556d bis 561 sowie die §§ 573, 573a, 573d Abs. 1 und §§ 575, 575a Abs. 1, §§ 577, 577a nicht. ("Sections 556d to 561 and sections 573, 573a, 573d(1), 575, 575a(1), 577 and 577a do not apply to housing in a student or youth residence.")
- Rent brake (sections 556d to 556g): the opening rent is not capped in tight housing markets.
- Rent increases (sections 557 to 561): they do not follow the statutory procedure.
- Ground for termination (sections 573, 573a and 573d(1)): the landlord's "berechtigtes Interesse", the legitimate interest, is not needed.
- Limits on fixed terms (sections 575 and 575a(1)): a term is agreed without one of the three reasons in section 575.
- Right of first refusal and the waiting period after a building is split into owner-occupied flats (sections 577 and 577a).
What section 549(3) does not name still applies: the social clause in sections 574 to 574c —the resident can object if termination would cause unjustified hardship—, the notice in section 573c and the deposit cap of three months' rent without service charges in section 551, although in a residence no interest has to be paid on it (section 551(3)).
The building: it depends on each Land
Building and safety rules are in each Land's Bauordnung (building code). In North Rhine-Westphalia, "Wohnheime" are large special buildings (große Sonderbauten, section 50(2)(10) BauO NRW): the authority can impose additional requirements case by case (section 50(1)), and the permit application includes a fire safety plan, the Brandschutzkonzept (section 70(2)). Another Land may set another list and other thresholds.
One duty is federal and reaches the front desk: whoever moves in has two weeks to register their address, and the residence, like any "Wohnungsgeber" (housing provider), confirms the move-in to them in writing within that period, with its name, the date and the address (section 19 BMG and section 17).
Data: DSGVO, BDSG and the Land authority
The GDPR applies directly and is supplemented by the BDSG, which applies to private bodies (section 1(1)). Two German details: a data protection officer has to be designated when, as a rule, at least twenty people are constantly processing data by automated means (section 38(1)), a numerical threshold the GDPR does not have; and a private operator is supervised by the authority of the Land where it is (section 40(1)), not by the federal one, the BfDI, which deals with federal public bodies (section 9). A Studierendenwerk, as a public body, also follows its Land's data protection act (section 1(1)(2)).
On WhatsApp, the rules are the same: tell people who processes their data, for what and on what basis (GDPR Arts. 13 and 6); sign every supplier up as a processor (Art. 28); and, if data leaves the Union for an AI model in the US, base the transfer on the Standard Contractual Clauses (Art. 46(2)(c)). Since 2 August 2026, moreover, whoever writes has to know an AI is answering, unless it is obvious (Art. 50(1) of the AI Act; the AI Act guide explains it).
What the rule does not say
Worth knowing
Section 549(3) does not define what a student residence is and sets no number of places, shared services or maximum stay: the name on the building is not enough, and if a resident disputes the exception, a judge decides. Nor does it require a fixed-term contract: it allows one.
And it does not take everything away: the social clause, the notice period and the deposit cap are still there. On data, there is no single authority for the private sector: there is one per Land, and the BfDI publishes the list for all sixteen Länder.
Where Bedel fits
Bedel answers a residence's WhatsApp in the language each resident writes in —German, English or any other— and puts on the phone of a person on the team what a machine should not decide. Its data is stored in the European Union, in Ireland; the AI model runs in the US under the Standard Contractual Clauses. What changes under German law in the contract and in the data processing is discussed before signing.
Frequently asked questions
Can I end a resident's contract without a reason in Germany?
In a student residence, the landlord does not need the legitimate interest that section 573 of the BGB requires, because section 549(3) excludes it. But the notice periods in section 573c still apply, and the resident keeps the social clause in sections 574 to 574c: they can object if termination would cause them unjustified hardship. If the resident disputes that the building is a residence, a judge decides.
Does the rent brake apply in a student residence?
No. Section 549(3) of the BGB excludes sections 556d to 556g, which cap the opening rent in tight housing markets, and also sections 557 to 561, which govern increases during the contract. Other rules still stand, such as the cap on the deposit at three months' rent without service charges in section 551, although in a residence the landlord does not have to pay interest on it.
Does the residence need a data protection officer?
It depends on the staff. Section 38 of the BDSG requires one when, as a rule, at least twenty people are constantly processing personal data by automated means, and also, whatever the number, if the processing requires an impact assessment under Article 35 of the GDPR. It is counted per controller: an operator with several houses adds up the people in all of them.
Which data authority supervises a private residence in Germany?
The authority of the Land where it is established. Section 40 of the BDSG gives the authorities of each Land supervision of private bodies, and the BfDI, the federal authority, deals with federal public bodies and some telecommunications companies (section 9). If the operator has establishments in several Länder, the competent one is decided by its main establishment (section 40(2)).
Do residents have to be told that an AI answers the WhatsApp?
Yes, from 2 August 2026, unless it is obvious. Article 50 of the EU AI Act requires it, and it applies in Germany as in the rest of the Union. The duty lies with the provider, which has to design the assistant to say so clearly at the latest at the first interaction; the residence, which deploys it, would do well to check that it does.
Other countries
- United KingdomFour systems in one country: in England, membership of an approved management code weighs on whether a student building is an HMO and on which contract is signed; data follows UK GDPR.
- IrelandA figure of its own: student specific accommodation, within tenancy law and under the RTB since 2019, whether signed as a lease or as a licence.
- PortugalRules of its own for the building since January 2022 (Decree-Law 14/2022 and Ordinance 35-A/2022); the contract is a Civil Code tenancy and data goes through the GDPR and Law 58/2019.
- FranceThe résidence universitaire has a legal definition (Art. L631-12 of the Code de la construction et de l'habitation); the rest of student accommodation is let under the 1989 Act, as a furnished let or a bail mobilité.
- ItalyThe "struttura residenziale universitaria" has a legal definition (Legislative Decree 68/2012, Art. 13), split into collegi and residenze; letting a flat to students comes under Art. 5 of Law 431/1998.
- NetherlandsNo residence act: Book 7 of the Civil Code gives student lettings the campus contract and the fixed-term contract, and the Bbl sets its own measurements for student housing.
- BelgiumThree student tenancy regimes, one per region, with different terms, deposits and exits; data protection and whistleblowing, by contrast, are federal.
- SpainThe starting point in Spain: which rule governs the legal figure, the contract, the building, the data and the AI of a student residence, with the guide for each.