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🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Choosing tenants, AGG and self-disclosure

Whom you may ask, what data you may collect and where the ban on discrimination applies.

choosing tenants AGG self-disclosure (Selbstauskunft) GDPR discrimination viewing estate agent

In brief

You may choose your tenants. But you may not reject them because of origin, sex, religion, disability, age or sexual identity.

  • At first ask only what is necessary for the selection.
  • Ask for proof such as salary statements only from applicants who are seriously being considered.
  • Do not keep data of rejected applicants.
  • If you hire an estate agent, you generally pay them, not the person looking for a flat.

Even with no more than 50 flats, you may not reject someone because of race or ethnic origin (§ 19 Abs. 2 AGG).

Step by step

  1. Set criteriaSet objective criteria, for example income in relation to the rent.
  2. Ask littleIn the first stage collect only a few details.
  3. Proof in stagesAsk for documents following the staged model of the Data Protection Conference (before the viewing, after the viewing, at signing of the contract) and only from the shortlist.
  4. Delete dataDelete the documents of rejected applicants.

Deadlines

50 flats
If the landlord rents out no more than 50 flats in total, renting out housing for more than temporary use is generally not a mass transaction; only the mass-transaction rule under § 19 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 AGG falls away, while § 19 Abs. 2 AGG (race, ethnic origin) continues to apply§ 19 Abs. 5 AGG
Watch out – common mistakes
  • If you reject someone because of origin, religion or disability, you risk claims under the AGG.
  • Consent to data collection is generally not a suitable legal basis for applicants (according to the guidance of the Data Protection Conference).
  • Questions about pregnancy, party membership, religion and previous convictions are not permitted according to the guidance of the Data Protection Conference.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

AGG

§ 19 Abs. 1 AGG prohibits discrimination on grounds of race or ethnic origin, sex, religion, disability, age or sexual identity in mass transactions. Different treatment may be permissible to create socially stable resident structures (§ 19 Abs. 3 AGG). § 19 Abs. 5 AGG excludes relationships involving special closeness or trust; for tenancies this is the case in particular if the landlord or relatives live on the same plot. Independently of that, sentence 3 provides: renting out housing for more than temporary use is generally not a mass transaction within the meaning of § 19 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 AGG if the landlord rents out no more than 50 flats in total. Only the mass transaction under Abs. 1 Nr. 1 falls away; § 19 Abs. 2 AGG (race, ethnic origin) also applies to small landlords with no more than 50 flats.

Self-disclosure and GDPR

According to the Data Protection Conference's guidance on obtaining self-disclosures from prospective tenants, a staged model applies: information is collected in stages over time; the legal bases are Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. b and f DSGVO; consent is generally not suitable as a basis. The guidance is dated 12 March 2026; its annex contains a model questionnaire with three phases: before the viewing, after the viewing and at signing of the contract. Questions about pregnancy, party membership, religion and previous convictions are not permitted.

Estate agents

§ 2 Abs. 1a WoVermRG generally prohibits the housing agent from demanding a fee from the person looking for a flat, unless the agent obtains the commission for the flat offer from the landlord solely because of the contract with the person looking (ordering principle, Bestellerprinzip). Advance payments are prohibited.

Who is responsible
  • State data protection authority (data protection questions)
  • Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes) (general, not checked against the wording)
  • Haus & Grund
Further reading
Tenancy agreement and deposit

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Choosing tenants, AGG and self-disclosure“?
Whom you may ask, what data you may collect and where the ban on discrimination applies.
Which deadlines and figures matter?
50 flats: If the landlord rents out no more than 50 flats in total, renting out housing for more than temporary use is generally not a mass transaction; only the mass-transaction rule under § 19 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 AGG falls away, while § 19 Abs. 2 AGG (race, ethnic origin) continues to apply (§ 19 Abs. 5 AGG)
What should I do first?
  • Set criteria: Set objective criteria, for example income in relation to the rent.
  • Ask little: In the first stage collect only a few details.
  • Proof in stages: Ask for documents following the staged model of the Data Protection Conference (before the viewing, after the viewing, at signing of the contract) and only from the shortlist.
What do I need to watch out for?
  • If you reject someone because of origin, religion or disability, you risk claims under the AGG.
  • Consent to data collection is generally not a suitable legal basis for applicants (according to the guidance of the Data Protection Conference).
  • Questions about pregnancy, party membership, religion and previous convictions are not permitted according to the guidance of the Data Protection Conference.
Evidence
  • Bundesministerium der Justiz, Gesetze im Internet, § 19 AGG, retrieved 20 September 2026
  • Datenschutzkonferenz, Orientierungshilfe Selbstauskünfte Mietinteressenten of 12 March 2026 with Anlage Musterfragebogen, retrieved 20 September 2026
  • Bundesministerium der Justiz, Gesetze im Internet, § 2 WoVermRG, retrieved 20 September 2026
As of

September 2026 · Sources and method

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