Renting Furnished: Surcharge, Rental Law, and Tax

It's not yet regulated by law. Outside the rent brake, only laws against price gouging apply. In rent-brake areas, a 2026 draft would limit it to 1% of furniture value monthly; up to 10% of unfurnished rent for full furnishing is considered reasonable. As of Oct 13, 2026, this is not yet law.

Yes, unless the apartment is let for temporary use. How the surcharge is factored in is currently not statutory; the draft law aims to change this.

Not currently. Under the draft law, landlords in rent-brake areas would have to disclose the surcharge unprompted before signing. It's already sensible to list it separately.

Items up to €800 net can be deducted fully in the year of purchase. More expensive items are depreciated linearly over their useful life. A fitted kitchen is a single asset depreciated over ten years.

Not for long-term residential rental, including the surcharge. VAT (7%) applies to short-term accommodation, like holiday apartments.

Only if you rent out a furnished room within your own home. Then, notice by the 15th for the end of the month applies. For a whole furnished apartment, normal rules apply.

It depends on location, target group, and the rent brake. In our example, a 1% surcharge barely pays for the furniture over ten years; a 10% flat rate does not. The advantage lies more in marketability than the surcharge itself.