How to handle potential theft from my room?
Published by: RashidK
I live in a student shared apartment (Wohngemeinschaft). Although I always lock my room, I have noticed several times now that various things in my room are differently placed when I return back. Since I come from India and I am not familiar with the laws in Germany, I don't really know what to do. I discussed with the owner of the apartment but he couldn’t help me and now I am stuck. Should I confront my flatmates although I don’t really have any evidence? Have you guys come up with a similar situation and if so can you give me some advice?
KarolinaR commented on 22.04.2021
You can’t really do much without any evidence. Pehpas you can turn on the camera on your laptop and stream from your phone while you are away. You might see something.
BrianZ commented on 23.04.2021
Has anything been actually stolen from your room because you say you find them in different places?
RashidK commented on 24.04.2021
Yes. I had 20 euros on my desk and they were gone when I came back from work. I just don’t understand how they can get in when I am locking the door.
BrianZ commented on 24.04.2021
That’s not really an issue… you will be surprise how far can people go sometimes. They can duplicate the key or ask for a spare one from your landlord or something else. But you can’t really be like a hawk all the time and watch over your stuff. Maybe you can buy a safe or a lock box where you can keep your most valuable things.
HansL commented on 24.04.2021
There are penalties if a theft occurs yet you need to prove that this person actually did that in order for the law to be applied. According to the German law for theft or aggravated theft the person who did that can be penalised or imprisoned for up to 10 years depending on the type of the theft. Maybe you can try to speak with your landlord to install surveillance cameras in the hallway, although he might not really agree.
SandraB commented on 25.03.2021
I had a similar situation with my flatmamtes in the first year of mu studies. However, in my case they were taking cutlery and food that was mine from the fridge as we shared a common kitchen. One day I had enough so I decided to speak with them without making any scences, so I just gathered them and we had a talk. From that moment on they stopped doing it so I guess if you confront your roommates maybe the ffect will be the same.
RashidK commented on 25.04.2021
I don’t really get along with my flatmates to be honest… besides one of them often invites his friends over so it might be someone from them. I will try to speak with them and if nothing works out maybe I will have to move out or indeed buy a lock box. Thank you for the advices anyways
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