Do I have to come to Munich for the clearance?
No. After a survey by photo or video and an agreement on what is set aside and what is disposed of, handing over the keys is enough. Many of our clients live in London, Vienna or New York and arrange the entire clearance by phone. On request we document every step with photographs.
The hard part of clearing a flat from abroad is not the clearance itself but the order of operations. This checklist is sorted by sequence, not by importance.
First: you have more time than you think
The commonest mistake in the first week is haste. A tenancy does not end with the tenant's death.
Under § 580 of the German Civil Code (BGB), both the heirs and the landlord may terminate the tenancy on an extraordinary basis within one month, giving the statutory notice period — counted from when they learned of the death. For residential property the statutory period is generally three months to month-end, so in practice to the end of the month after next.
That means you usually have six to ten weeks, not six to ten days. You pay rent during that time — but a week's rent is far cheaper than a rushed clearance in which paperwork ends up in a skip.
The order of operations
1. Secure the flat, throw nothing away
Lock the flat and leave everything in place at first. If several people hold a key, agree that nobody "just tidies a bit" on their own. It sounds over-cautious, but it prevents the commonest dispute between relatives.
2. Settle the succession before instructing anyone
Anyone who has a flat cleared before the succession is settled may be interfering with someone else's property. Establish:
- Is there a will? Is it lodged with the probate court (Nachlassgericht)?
- Who are the heirs, and is anyone disclaiming?
- If the inheritance is disclaimed, the clearance obligation passes to the landlord or an estate administrator — in which case you are not the one instructing.
Important for the invoice: whoever signs the order is liable for it, regardless of who inherits. Settle in advance who instructs and from which funds it is paid.
3. Give notice, note the deadline
Give notice in writing, referring to § 580 BGB, and get confirmation of receipt. Note the end date — everything else hangs off it. In the same letter, ask for the handover protocol: you want to know what the landlord expects before booking a clearance date.
4. Cancel the contracts that keep running
Electricity, gas, internet, telephone, the broadcasting levy, newspaper subscriptions, insurance policies, memberships, streaming services. This list is longer than expected and each contract has its own notice period. Three months of bank statements are more useful here than three ring binders — standing orders and direct debits show what exists.
Careful: do not cancel the electricity too early. Without power the clearance is slower and dearer, and in a cellar without light impossible.
5. Arrange the survey without travelling
Three options, in this order:
- Photos. Every room from the doorway, cupboards open, cellar and attic included, plus the route from the entrance to the parking space. That is exactly what our quote tool asks for.
- Video call. Someone on site — a neighbour, the building management — walks through with a phone while we watch.
- We go alone. If the building management or a neighbour lets us in, we survey and send you photos plus a quote.
6. Decide what gets set aside
This is the part worth being thorough about. Tell us what to look out for. What we set aside and hand over as a matter of course, without being asked:
- Ring binders, contracts, insurance policies, savings books, bank statements
- ID documents, certificates, pension paperwork, land-registry extracts
- Cash, jewellery, watches, coins
- Photo albums, letters, personal keepsakes
- Keys of any kind — they often belong to things that turn up later
None of it goes into a container, even when it is lying among the rubbish. On a full household clearance this review is part of the process and the reason it takes a little longer than a plain clearance.
7. Have valuables appraised before clearing
Antiques, art, collections, musical instruments, fine jewellery: have them valued before anything is cleared. We do not touch such pieces. Why a blanket value deduction is a poor idea here has its own article.
8. Book the clearance with a buffer
Set the date at least a week before the handover. That gives you room for remedial work if the landlord objects to anything. If a no-parking zone is needed: three weeks' notice, the only hard deadline on our side.
9. Meter readings and photographs
On the clearance day or immediately after: read and photograph electricity, gas and water, dated. Plus photos of every empty room. Both are the best protection against claims that arrive six weeks later. We take these images on request and send them to you.
10. The handover
Establish in advance whether broom-clean suffices or a final clean is required — the difference is substantial and is covered in broom-clean or a full final clean. If you cannot hand over in person, the building management can often do it by arrangement with the landlord.
Return every key — flat, building, cellar, letterbox, garage. Missing keys are the most expensive small item of a handover, because the lock system may be replaced.
What it costs
A full flat clearance in Munich runs €1,200 to €2,500 for a flat and €3,000 to €7,000 for a house, including VAT and disposal. Billing is hourly at 65,45 €55,00 € per person, with disposal by weight at {{p:disposalPer100Kg}} per 100 kilograms. The full breakdown is in what a clearance in Munich costs.
A note on pace
Relatives almost always underestimate how draining the sorting is — not physically, but because there is a memory in every drawer. If you want to go through things yourself, set aside a separate day for it, apart from the clearance day. And if you would rather not, that is equally fine: we have done this since 2004 and we comment on nothing.