German Price Indication Rules (PAngV) for Holiday Lets: What Landlords Need to Know

PAngV: this abbreviation makes many landlords uneasy. Unlike the GDPR, it is not about data but about money. How must prices be shown when a guest books your holiday apartment? Germany’s Price Indication Ordinance (Preisangabenverordnung, PAngV) governs exactly that. Breaching it can trigger a cease-and-desist warning under competition law.

This article explains the key points. No legalese, no claim to completeness. For specific legal questions, please consult a lawyer.

What is the PAngV?

The Price Indication Ordinance (PAngV) sets out how businesses must display prices to consumers. The core rule is in § 3 PAngV: anyone who quotes a price to consumers must, as a rule, state the total price. It includes VAT and every unavoidable price component. No arithmetic for the guest, no small print.

What does “unavoidable” mean? The courts sharpened this again in 2026. A surcharge belongs in the total price if the guest cannot avoid it. If the guest can deselect it, it is an optional extra.

For holiday apartment landlords this means: the price you show must contain every unavoidable mandatory component. Optional extras such as a pet, a linen package or a garage may only raise the total price if the guest selects them explicitly.

What does this mean for your booking page?

Three points decide it:

• VAT. The total price must contain the VAT legally owed, where VAT applies at all. Whether it applies, and at what rate, depends on your situation — the small-business rule, for example. A price with an asterisk saying “plus VAT” is usually not enough.
• Final cleaning as a mandatory cost. If final cleaning is unavoidable, it belongs in the total price. You may break the price down on top of that, for instance in a line reading “of which final cleaning”. The total price has to stay the prominent figure. An “extra item” the guest only meets at the last step is not enough.
• Optional extras kept clearly separate. A pet fee, a linen service or a garage are fine, as long as it is plain that they are optional and charged on top. The guest must not be pushed into paying through chargeable options that are ticked in advance.

In short: the guest should see at a glance what they pay as a minimum. And what they can add.

Local levies: visitor’s tax and the like

Many holiday apartments also charge a visitor’s tax, a guest contribution or a tourism levy. What matters is the kind of levy:

• Fixed and unavoidable for every guest? Then the levy belongs in the total price. A note beside the price is not enough.
• Genuinely variable? If the levy depends on age, number of people or length of stay and cannot be quantified in advance, it may stand separately. But then you have to explain how it is calculated. A bare “plus visitor’s tax” is not enough.

With MeineFeWoSeite you set up the visitor’s tax as a mandatory extra service, for example per person per night. It then appears in the price overview on your website and flows automatically into the total price of the booking enquiry. A note field lets you explain special cases, such as a reduction for children.

Discounts and seasonal rates

Early-bird and last-minute discounts are common with holiday apartments. Many people know the 30-day rule from retail: anyone advertising a price reduction must state the lowest price of the previous 30 days (§ 11 PAngV). That rule only covers goods, though. Renting out a holiday apartment is a service, so § 11 PAngV does not apply here.

That does not make everything permissible. Advertising a price advantage must not mislead (§ 5 UWG, Germany’s Act Against Unfair Competition). A struck-through price must be a price you actually charged. A fantasy price that makes the saving look bigger is misleading. And the total price under § 3 PAngV still has to be right.

Seasonal rates are no problem. You may charge more in high season than in low season. That is not a price reduction, it is a different price for a different period. It only gets tricky when you present the difference as a discount. A struck-through high-season price next to the low-season price quickly suggests a saving that is not really there.

Common triggers for a warning letter

In practice the same mistakes keep drawing complaints. They usually come from the Wettbewerbszentrale (Germany’s Centre for Protection against Unfair Competition), from qualified trade associations or from competitors:

• Final cleaning hidden. The nightly rate looks cheap. The mandatory final cleaning only turns up in the booking form, or not until the invoice.
• “From” prices without mandatory costs. “From” prices are allowed in principle. They become a problem when they hide unavoidable mandatory costs and mislead the consumer about what they will actually pay.
• No clear VAT statement. The price is not clearly identified as the total price. The guest has to work it out or guess.
• Mandatory and optional blurred. Extra costs are listed without showing which are compulsory and which the guest can deselect.
• A discount off a fantasy price. A struck-through price that was never charged, or an ordinary seasonal rate presented as a discount.

Price statements like these can trigger a cease-and-desist warning under competition law. The landlord usually carries the cost.

On top of that come possible fines from the price authorities. The ceiling currently stands at 25,000 euros. It is rising to 100,000 euros: the Bundestag passed the increase on 9 July 2026 and the Bundesrat let the act through on 25 September 2026. It takes effect at the start of the quarter following its promulgation.

How MeineFeWoSeite supports you

The way MeineFeWoSeite presents prices helps landlords meet the requirements of the Price Indication Ordinance:

• The total price including the VAT legally owed is calculated and displayed automatically
• Mandatory costs such as final cleaning are a fixed part of the total price, never hidden
• The visitor’s tax can be set up as a mandatory extra service and then flows into the total price
• Optional extra costs are shown separately and visibly
• Pricing logic is managed centrally, which makes a legally sound presentation easier

The landlord stays responsible for the accuracy of the data entered.

More on our pricing page and in the FAQ.

A practical checklist for landlords

• Does every price you show state the total price including VAT (where VAT applies)?
• Are all unavoidable price components contained in the total price?
• Is final cleaning (where mandatory) part of the total price, and does the total price stay prominent when you break it down?
• Are optional extra costs clearly marked as optional and left unticked?
• Are fixed mandatory levies such as the visitor’s tax inside the total price, and are variable levies explained?
• Does no page advertise a “from” price that hides mandatory costs?
• Have you actually charged every struck-through price, and do you avoid presenting seasonal rates as discounts?
• Does the price shown match the price the guest pays at the end of the booking?

Conclusion

The PAngV is not a bureaucratic monster, it is one clear rule: show the total price including every unavoidable mandatory component, transparently and without tricks. And only advertise discounts that genuinely exist. A well-thought-out booking flow makes that easier and markedly reduces the risk of faulty price statements.

Try MeineFeWoSeite for free, with a price presentation built for the requirements of the Price Indication Ordinance.

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This article is general information and does not replace legal advice. For specific legal questions about the Price Indication Ordinance, please consult a lawyer. Legal position: September 2026.