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For my apartment search I need a SCHUFA query (Auskunft), and I also need a good one.
However, I was pretty surprised as it says my score is 328 out of 600, which is pretty low and a "high risk of bills not being paid".
Is that normal for new inmigrant, and if not, should I contact them and try to rectify it?
The base score (scorewert) that should be used is in procent.
The Schufa results are based on known facts about a person.
The exact method used is a business secret (Geschäftsgeheimnis), as determined by court rulings.
So an entrant (Berufsanfänger), will be less known than someone working for 5-10 years.
A new Immigrant, who is also unknown, falls into the same category.
With time a reputation is built, when know facts have been collected.
In the past, for an entrant, it has always been difficult.
In the present day of computer automation it has become worse, since the aspect that the queried persion is an entrant is often not taken into consideration
There are of course exceptions ...
Schufa Score - Alle wichtigen Infos im Ratgeber
Scorewert Ausfallwahrscheinlichkeit
>97,5% Sehr geringes Ausfallrisiko
95-97,5% Geringes bis überschaubares Risiko
90-95% Zufriedenstellendes bis erhöhtes Risiko
80-90% Deutlich erhöhtes bis hohes Risiko
50-80% Sehr hohes Risiko
<50% Kritisches Risiko
There are different types of Schufa certificates. As far as I remember, the one for renting an apartment never had a score written on it (see image on, for example, Immobilienscout24).
So first option would be to get a different type of Scufa certificate, without a score (if it is still possible, please double-check it), and see what is written there.
If it will be negative, but one does not have any real negative background (like not paying a rent or credit), one can make a free GDPR-based Schufa-query. It will contain a lot of detailed personal information (bank accounts, credits, etc.). If you decide to show it to the landlord, it may help to convince them that your low Schufa score is caused by the fact that you recently immigrated into Germany, and not by negative history. One may also consider to strikethrough some really private personal information from there, so that only relevant information is shown to the landlord.
In general, it might be harder to convince landlord to rent you a flat when you just arrived. Please see my tips from another answer for more details, as well as other related questions and answers:
