Schufa

The landlords often ask for a Schufa statement, to assure that you, as a tenant, can pay the rent regularly and on time. Some of the landlords or the property management demand to see your Schufa statement at the first inspection of the rental. Others ask for Schaufa statement along with other documents, at the latest, when you apply for the apartment.

• Go to the page meineSCHUFA.de. Scroll down to the bottom of the page. In the grey area down there find "Datenübersicht nach § 34 Bundesdatenschutzgesetz" (which means "Data overview according to § 34 Federal Data Protection Act"). Click on the yellow link "zum Formular" ("to the form").
• You will again land on an overview page with all the paid and cost-free offers. In the left column, click on "Datenübersicht nach § 34 Bundesdatenschutzgesetz" one more time.
• Do not be confused - on the next page too, the website will try to sell you the Schaufa credit report. As mentioned, a Schaufa statement is only free through "Datenübersicht nach § 34 Bundesdatenschutzgesetz" in the right column of the page. If you click on "Order now" below the right column, you should be able to download the order form in six languages. Print the form out.
• On the printed form there is a field for ordering a paid statement. There you can find a box for your bank details. Leave this field empty and do not sign here! Go ahead and fill the rest of the form.
• Now you only need a copy of your passport and your registration certificate ("Meldebescheinigung"). If you have German citizenship, the copy of your ID card will suffice). Attach the copies to the form and send the papers by post to:

                   SCHUFA Holding AG

                   PO Box 10 25 66

                   44725 Bochum

You should receive your Schufa report by mail within one to two weeks. If you cannot wait this long, you will probably have to apply for the paid-version of the report.

No. No landlord has a legal claim to the Schufa information. But if you don't provide these data, your chance of finding a flat will be considerably reduced. If you have ordered a paid Schufa report, you can simply give the landlord a copy of it. If you have requested the free Schufa information, you should make a copy and black out the details that the landlord does not need to know. The free Schufa information contains all the data that Schufa has collected regarding you, while the landlord only needs to know that you generally have a positive, reliable record.

If you apply for a loan from a bank, for instance, the bank makes a Schufa inquiry. As part of this investigation, the bank seeks relevant data that shows your payment reliability. Depending on this information, the bank then grants you a loan or rejects your request. Not only banks but also property managers, telecommunication service providers and car salespeople often have the right to make a Schufa query directly from Schufa Holding AG. But your approval is essential; that is why the second party in the contract asks you to sign a form before they make the inquiry.

In contracts, there is often a "Schufa clause". If you sign a contract with this clause, your data will be forwarded to Schufa Holding AG. With this signature, you also authorise the second parties to make schaufa inquiries on you.

Schufa Holding AG stores all personal information (name, first name, date of birth, address and previous places of residence). It also records the information regarding your Bank accounts, mobile phone contracts, instalment payments, dunning and collection procedures, and other contracts and credits. The duration of loans, payment irregularities and contract terminations are also stored.

The Schufa does not record any information on marital status, employer, income, assets and custody, although the last three may have a positive effect on the consumer's credit score.

According to the Federal Data Protection Act, most of the gathered data must be deleted three years after the gatheing.

Various business enterprises, such as banks and telecommunication service companies, provide data for Schufa Holding AG. Schufa Holding AG is a private company which also finances itself through these different business enterprises. All these enterprises count as lending industries. The Schufa Holding AG only collects the data from the mentioned sources, without any independent research.

The Schufa Holding AG uses the collected data to calculate a score value indicating how creditworthy you are, i.e. how likely it is that you can pay the bill. This calculation can sometimes be flawed. That is why you are entitled to apply for and receive the Schufa statement once a year cost-free so you can react to possible errors. If you find incorrect information, you can always request a correction in writing.

The Consumer Center portal provides counselling on this topic.