What Landlords Aren't Allowed to Ask When Choosing a Tenant: The AGG

Every landlord is allowed to check a SCHUFA report, proof of income, and a certificate of no rent arrears. But not every selection criterion is permitted: the General Act on Equal Treatment (AGG) draws real legal lines around tenant selection — ones that get overlooked in practice more often than you'd expect.

Who Does the AGG Even Apply to When Renting Out Housing?

Under Section 19(1) of the AGG, disadvantaging someone because of race or ethnic origin, sex, religion, disability, age, or sexual identity is impermissible for so-called mass-market transactions. Important for small private landlords: anyone renting out no more than 50 units total generally doesn't count as a mass-market provider under Section 19(5) AGG; for them, only the ban on discrimination based on race or ethnic origin applies, not the other protected characteristics.

What Exception Exists for "Socially Stable Resident Structures"?

Section 19(3) AGG allows different treatment where it serves to create and maintain socially stable resident structures and balanced settlement structures, as a legal-policy analysis by bug-ev.org of Section 19(3) and (5) AGG's exceptions also lays out. In practice, this exception is mainly used by larger housing companies — for example, to aim for a certain social mix in a building when re-letting a unit — not to blanket-exclude particular groups.

Which Criteria Is a Landlord Allowed to Check?

A SCHUFA report, proof of income, employment status, and rent-arrears history are permissible, objective selection criteria, because they relate directly to your financial reliability as a tenant. The order in which applications come in, or how well a move-in date fits, can also play a role.

Which Criteria Are Impermissible?

A blanket rejection based on origin, marital status, pregnancy, union membership, or sexual identity is impermissible under the AGG, unless the landlord falls under the small-landlord exception. Even under that exception, rejecting someone based solely on race or ethnic origin remains prohibited in every case, regardless of the landlord's size.

Conclusion

A careful creditworthiness check is permitted and sensible; selection based on personal traits like origin is not. Knowing where that line sits helps you make sense of a rejection and, if in doubt, challenge it legally. For the practical screening steps themselves, from SCHUFA to a self-disclosure form, see our tenant-selection checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a private landlord with just one apartment choose freely?

Largely yes, but even they can't reject someone solely because of race or ethnic origin; that ban applies regardless of the landlord's size.

Can a landlord reject an application because of pregnancy?

No, unless the landlord falls under the small-landlord exception for up to 50 units, that's impermissible under the AGG.

What does a "balanced resident structure" actually mean?

It lets larger landlords aim for a certain social mix in the building when re-letting a unit, but it doesn't justify a blanket exclusion of particular groups.