The first time someone says you've been "invited to a casting," you might think it's a joke. It is not. The WG-Casting is the German shared-flat interview, and treating it like a casual coffee is the fastest way to lose the room.

A casting is not a meeting with a landlord. It is a panel interview by your potential flatmates - usually two to four people, sometimes seven - who will pick the person they most want to share a kitchen, a bathroom, and a Hausordnung (the building's house rules) with for the next few years. They are not buying a service. They are choosing family.

This guide explains the format, the unspoken rules, what to wear, what to ask, and how to survive the long silence after the visit.

What a casting actually is

The Hauptmieter (the person whose name is on the head lease) and the existing Mitbewohner (current flatmates) need a new Untermieter (subletter) to fill a room. They publish on WG-Gesucht or Kleinanzeigen and receive - in 2025 in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt - anywhere from 80 to 400 messages per ad. From that pile, they invite five to fifteen candidates to view the flat.

That viewing is the casting. There are three formats:

You usually don't know which one until you arrive. Plan for the open-viewing scenario - that one carries the most landmines.

The unspoken rules

These are never written in the ad. They are the entire game.

• Show up exactly on time. Five minutes early, lurk around the corner, ring the bell at the minute. German punctuality is not a stereotype, it is a filter.
• Bring something small but not weird. A nicer-than-supermarket bottle of sparkling water, a packet of nice biscuits, or - if it's clearly a beer-and-couch crowd - a six-pack of regional Pils. Flowers are too much. Wine is sometimes too much. Read the room.
• Take your shoes off at the door unless explicitly told not to. Always.
• Greet every single flatmate with a handshake (or whatever they offer) and their name. If you forget the names, ask again. Forgetting reads as not caring.
• Don't open doors or touch anything until invited. Wait to be shown the room, the kitchen, the bathroom.
• Sit when offered. Drink when offered. Don't bring out your phone.
• Speak some German if you have any. Even broken German used for the first thirty seconds dramatically improves your odds. The conversation will likely switch to English after; that's fine.

Common questions you'll be asked

The questions look casual. They are not. Each one is screening for a specific compatibility risk.

"Erzähl mal kurz was über dich."
"So, tell us a bit about yourself."

Have a sixty-second answer ready: who you are, what you do (job or studies), why you're in this city, one or two hobbies that hint at your evenings and weekends. Keep it warm, not corporate.

"Was machst du an einem typischen Wochenende?"
"What does a typical weekend look like for you?"

They are asking: are you here Friday-to-Monday, or do you disappear? Will the flat be loud or quiet? Are you the type to host fifteen people for brunch?

"Wie ist dein Verhältnis zu Ordnung?"
"How do you feel about cleanliness?"

The trap question. Saying "I love cleaning" sounds like a lie. Saying "I'm relaxed about it" sounds like you'll leave dishes for a week. The honest middle: "I'm tidy in shared spaces, my own room is my own business, and I'm fine with a Putzplan if that's how the WG works."

"Wie oft kochst du?"
"How often do you cook?"

Kitchen volume and smell. Be honest - vegan three times a day, daily fish-frying, or microwave-only are all fine if the flat aligns. They aren't fine if they don't.

"Hast du Besuch öfter, Partner:in, vielleicht ein Haustier?"
"Do you have visitors often, a partner, maybe a pet?"

Pets are usually a hard no without prior mention in the ad. A partner who would effectively become a fifth flatmate is a serious topic - be upfront, don't downplay it.

"Wie lange möchtest du bleiben?"
"How long are you planning to stay?"

WGs hate turnover. Six months reads as bad. "At least a year, ideally longer" reads as good - if it's true.

What to ask back

A casting is two-way. Asking nothing makes you look passive or already-decided-against. A few questions that signal you've thought about life in this flat:

• "Wie läuft das mit Putzen und Einkaufen - gibt's einen Plan oder ist das eher locker?"
• "Esst ihr manchmal zusammen, oder ist das eher eine Zweck-WG?" (Are you a "purpose WG" of strangers who share a kitchen, or do you actually hang out?)
• "Wie ist die Stimmung im Haus - gibt es eine Hausordnung, mit der ich rechnen muss?"
• "Bin ich beim Vermieter als Untermieter angemeldet, und kann ich mich an dieser Adresse anmelden?" Critical for your Bürgeramt registration. If they say no Anmeldung, the room is functionally useless to you.
• "Wie hoch ist die Kaltmiete, wie hoch die Nebenkosten, und gibt's noch was on top - Strom, Internet, GEZ?"

For the writing-to-them part of the process, our WG application template in German walks through the message that gets you invited in the first place. And if Anmeldung is unclear in the casting, read Anmeldung and your WG before you sign anything.

Dress code reality

There is no dress code, which is itself the dress code. Show up in what a slightly-better-than-usual version of yourself wears on a Tuesday. Suit reads as wrong industry. Pajamas read as wrong person. Aim: clean, considered, not trying too hard. A graphic tee from a band the WG might know is, weirdly, a good move.

Exception: a "Zweck-WG" of older young professionals (mid-30s consultants, doctors) - dress closer to smart-casual office.

Online vs. in-person castings

Online video castings became normal during the pandemic and remain common for international applicants. They are easier to schedule, harder to win.

Tips that matter on video:

• Stable internet, decent light on your face, plain background.
• Same punctuality rules - be in the call two minutes early.
• Don't sit eating dinner. Don't have a partner walk through the frame.
• Ask, near the end: "Wäre es möglich, dass jemand vor Ort die Wohnung besichtigt - eine Freundin von mir?" Sending a proxy in person dramatically improves your odds and is normal practice.

The silence after the visit

Here is the part nobody warns you about. You leave a great casting, you click with the people, you go home, and then - nothing. For three days. Sometimes seven. You refresh your inbox, draft and delete a follow-up message, lose sleep.

This is normal. The WG is interviewing fourteen other people. They will sit down on a Sunday evening with a bottle of wine and decide. You don't write to them in that window - it reads as anxious or pushy.

Acceptable follow-up: a single short message after 5–7 days if you've heard nothing.

"Hi zusammen, danke nochmal für das nette Treffen am Donnerstag. Falls ihr noch unentschieden seid: ich hätte sehr gerne das Zimmer. Liebe Grüße, X."

That's it. One message. If they don't reply, they chose someone else and don't enjoy writing rejection emails - which is most German WGs.

What rejection actually means

Almost nothing. The Mieterbund and most expat support services confirm what every WG-Gesucht user eventually learns: the average successful WG search in Berlin or Munich in 2025 took 30–80 castings before a yes. Each rejection is statistical, not personal. The flat picked the person who reminded them most of themselves. Next one.

If you want a calmer, more structured way through the search itself - fewer dud castings, fewer scam ads, applications that actually get read - that's what we built WG-Lotse for. And if Munich is your target city, Find a WG in Munich covers the district patterns that make a difference there.

The casting is weird. It stays weird. But it's also genuinely useful: by the time someone says yes, you've already met your future flatmates and they've chosen you on purpose. That is not a worse system than signing a lease with strangers. It's a better one. It just takes longer to feel that way.

Data flags

• "80–400 applications per ad" - sourced from WG-Gesucht press communications and city-specific 2025 reporting. Editor should pull the latest WG-Gesucht annual stats release for an exact figure.
• "30–80 castings before a yes" - directional, drawn from anecdotal reporting and expat forum aggregation; flag as approximate or replace with a sourced figure if available.
• Mieterbund link is to the federation's homepage; consider linking to their specific Untermiete / WG guidance page once located.

Suggested visuals

• Photo: a real casting setup - kitchen table, a few candidates, mugs of tea - to demystify it.
• Comic-style infographic: "Five things not to do at a WG casting" (shoes on, phone out, brought wine, brought parents, opened the fridge).
• Comparison table graphic: speed-casting vs. open viewing vs. single visit.
• Sample follow-up message in German with annotations.