June 30, 2026, 1:12 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
Many apartment seekers know the problem: You move, but the lease at your old place hasn’t fully expired yet. As a result, tenants often pay rent for several months simultaneously. But do you really have to pay the full rent for the old apartment if water and other utilities aren’t being used? myHOMEBOOK spoke with a lawyer about this.
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After Moving Out, Can You Pay Just the Base Rent?
“It depends on the lease,” explains lawyer Nicole Mutschke. “If it stipulates a net base rent plus advance payments for utilities, both must generally be paid until the contract ends. Since the lease continues independently of the actual move-out, the agreed payment obligations remain.”
According to the lawyer, this is especially necessary with a flat-rate utility charge or inclusive rent, as tenants cannot separate individual cost components. If the lease explicitly states that certain consumption-based costs are only owed until the actual use or return of the apartment, the situation is different. However, as Mutschke explains, this is an exception.
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In Which Special Cases Do You Only Pay the Base Rent?
Paying only the base rent after moving out works only in exceptional cases, as the lawyer reports. Such individual cases occur mainly when the landlord re-rents the apartment before the contract ends or uses it themselves. In this case, the apartment would be economically used twice, which the landlord is not allowed to do.
Another exception can be adjusting the advance payment for utilities if these payments are set too high.
Also interesting: What tenants should know about utilities
Does an Application Need to Be Submitted for This Rule?
An application does not need to be submitted for this, the lawyer explains. A first look at the lease is essential. If it’s not clearly stated what must be paid, the landlord can subsequently be asked in writing to reduce or suspend the advance payments. However, it’s at the landlord’s discretion whether to agree or not.
According to Nicole Mutschke, one thing is particularly important: “Without a clear contractual basis or the landlord’s consent, payments should not be reduced unilaterally.”
If you want to pay only the base rent after moving out, remember that there are numerous additional costs such as property tax, insurance, or house cleaning that are directly related to the property. Garden maintenance or elevator costs are also distributed among all tenants. These are expenses that still accrue after moving out if the contract continues.
Waiving the full rent is not legally provided for. However, it should be noted that advance payments for various utilities are usually just installments for the final billing. If tenants move out before the contract ends, the lower consumption will be reflected in the final utility bill.