The regulations of the Federal Registration Act (BMG) essentially correspond to those of the former Lower Saxony Registration Act. However, there are some deviations, about which information is provided here:
Introduction of the landlord's confirmation of residence
According to § 19 BMG, the landlord or landlady is now obliged to cooperate in the registration and deregistration process. The landlord or landlady is the (natural or legal) person who provides another person with living space for actual use; an effective legal relationship is not required. This includes, for example, owners, including housing associations, or usufructuaries. It is possible to commission third parties such as property management companies to issue the landlord's confirmation of residence. In the case of subletting, the main tenant is obliged to issue the confirmation.
From 01.11.2015, the person obliged to register will be given two weeks to register their place of residence. In connection with the registration of a place of residence, the person obliged to register must then submit the landlord's confirmation of residence, among other things. If the person subject to registration is moving into their own home, a self-declaration must be submitted to the BürgerCenter during the registration process. The legislator's main aim is to counteract bogus registrations, i.e. registrations without the knowledge of the landlord.
Change to the obligation to register in hospitals, care homes and similar facilities
According to the current legal situation, the management of hospitals, nursing homes, sanatoriums or other facilities are obliged to immediately record the personal details of admitted persons in a register, unless the necessary information is already available from the documents. The obligation to keep such a register no longer applies when the BMG comes into force on 01.11.2015. However, the obligation to provide information to the competent authority remains if this is necessary to avert a significant and present danger, to prosecute criminal offenses and to clarify the fate of missing persons and accident victims in individual cases (Section 32 (2) BMG).
Changes to registration deadlines
In principle, a person must register with the registration authority within two weeks of moving in according to § 17 Para. 1 BMG.
Information from the population register is partially restricted
Insofar as information is requested from the registration authority for the purpose of advertising and address trading, this registration data will only be transmitted if the citizen concerned agrees to the transmission of their registration data for this purpose. There is also a further restriction for inquiries for commercial purposes. In future, the purpose of the request must be stated for such requests and the requesters may only use the transmitted registration data for the purpose for which they have requested the registration data. Citizens' registration data will therefore generally be more protected than before.
Online access by security authorities
Security authorities and other authorities to be determined by other legal provisions will have online access to the registration data around the clock across all federal states.
