[firestarter223]

I find that German law idiotic. Of course it costs the landlord something to hire a broker, even if the renter is supposed to pay the fee. It still eats into the overall budget of the renter, that could otherwise have gone to the landlord.

[allendoerfer]

You can find it idiotic, but finding a tenant is quite easy in popular places, so instead of finding a way to increase the overall price (which is also regulated), the landlords often just do it themself. In unpopular places, it is hard to increase the price.