Forum: travel.stackexchange.com
Tags: <germany><accommodation><rental><berlin>
Title: Flat renting in Berlin for medium-term period
Question: Next summer I will be attending a two-month course in Berlin with my friend. We are looking for a small flat (studio/one bedroom) at a reasonable price (ideally  in the Mitte district).   Where can I look for it or who may I contact?

Answers:
sents: text: For medium term flat rentals (1-2 months) you could look to Airbnb which works in about any place by now.
text: Probably cheaper would be if you can find a private place as a temporary short-term rental ( Zwischenmiete in German) at WG-gesucht which is typically young people renting out their places while away for internships/vacations/... Now be aware that you are on the German housing market so some knowledge of German will come in handy even if Berlin is a fairly international place.
text: Do insist on seeing the place at least via Skype, signing a contract (in German likely) and be careful about scams.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/32134/mts
score: 11
sents: text: An alternative to Airbnb: tripping.com ; they aggregate search results from a lot of vacation rentals websites.
text: Disclaimer: not affiliated in any way to that site, just happened to use it a few times in similar situations as the OP's, with good results (cheaper than Airbnb for comparable listings)
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/53646/user4867444
score: 6
sents: text: I've lived in House of Nations Studentenapartments Berlin for a short time.
text: The quality of the housing is just average, but you avoid the possible hassles with finding and renting a room from a private individual on WG-Gesucht (which is otherwise a good choice, and typically cheaper) and you can do more or less everything in English.
text: Check also CentralHome – First Choice Berlin .
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/7835/Federico Poloni
score: 6
sents: text: I have rented a few times in Berlin and other German cities through REM
text: e.
text: V., Ring Europäischer Mitwohnzentralen .
text: It was always the case of someone going overseas for a few months/years and looking for someone to cover their rent while they were gone.
text: I found the people there to be friendly, helpful and efficient.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/3390/Mawg says reinstate Monica
score: 5
sents: text: Regarding Berlin in particular, it is often illegal to turn an apartment with long-term rental (housing) into one with vacation rental (tourism).
text: As a rough approximation, it would be a violation of zoning laws (Zweckentfremdungsverbot).
text: Politics and law enforcement have been slow to catch up with the massive growth of online portals, but they are starting to do so now.
text: The legal problems will be for the landlord, not for you, but I would not rely on the likes of AirBnB until that is settled.
text: Also, you will have to register with the municipal authorities as a resident (after arrival), that may be difficult without a proper rental contract.
text: In all likelihood the Bürgeramt will only process your registration after you have left, but you have to go through the motions anyway.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/27778/o.m.
score: 3
sents: text: "I understand that your question is about renting an apartment, but why don’t you ask somebody to “borrow you the keys” from his apartment?!
text: Last summer I visited Spain with my friends, one of them had found a good apartment for us in Barcelona for free.
text: We lived there for about a month and were very thankful to the owner for his fearlessness and trust;)
text: I learned that my friend had found a new service of home exchange or house-swap, easy to register and use, and we stayed for free due to this awesome service.
text: Thus I recommend to find a family that can leave their flat for you here
text: http://swap-house.com/host/germany/
text: I hope it will be useful.
text: Good luck"
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/53761/Emily Lane
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
You can find medium-term flat rentals on Airbnb or WG-gesucht, which is often apartments rented by young people while away for internships/vacations. Tripping.com also aggregates search results from many vacation rental websites. CentralHome – First Choice Berlin is also worth checking.
Airbnb appears to be the best option for a medium term rental in Berlin. Other options include CentralHome - First Choice Berlin and House of Nations Studentapartments.