Lack of proper bed in a furnished apartment

I recently rented a furnished apartment and discovered that the bed is a sofa bed and the mattress is not flat and sags in the middle. The bed is really hurting my back, and when I asked the landlord about getting a proper bed, he said I could either buy a new bed out of my own pocket or contact his flatkeeper about getting a sheet of wood to put under the mattress to make it flat. Surely renting a furnished apartment means I should at least have a proper bed?

Do I have any rights in the way of making my landlord contribute at least something towards the cost of a new bed, especially since I would leave it in the apartment once I move out, or do I just have to bite the bullet and pay for one myself?

i imagine he has in a way fullfilled his side of the bargain and provided a "BED" although not a good one.
Its a common gripe of tenents...i even find a lot of hotel beds junk...best buy one.

Yep, bite the bullet and buy your own. I lived in a "furnished" apt. the first 4 years I was here. All the furniture was crap, but it was furniture, technically speaking. There is not provision for "your" type of mattress and bed here. And I can GUARANTEE you what the landlord will say if you ask him/her to purchase one for you. "The last person who lived in this room LOVED the mattress; it must be just you." (I am speaking from experience).
If you don't have much money, then buy a blow up mattress. They are big, cheap, and if they sag, you can pump them back up!

Technically, the landlord has provided a bed for you - it's just a super crap one. I agree with the others and recommend you to just buy your own bed. Some decent reasonably priced beds can be bought from Ikea.

I'm surprised you found a furnished apartment. I've had to take an unfurnished one. But at least I get to choose what goes in it, and my employer pays. I can agree with the Ikea comment, just researching myself for beds, and they are pretty reasonable. You can always sell it on or take it with you when you go. Don't forget to buy the slatted base, they come separately.

Do yourself a favor and clear it in writing with the landlord if you want to leave the bed when you move. Otherwise, you could get charged for the landlord having to remove it, whether or not he actually does so.

If you have space to store the one he has provided, just leave that when you go. He can't object to that, can he?

I told him that I was going to buy a proper bed and leave it in the apartment when I moved out, which was why I was wanting him to contribute something towards the cost of it. I suppose it makes sense that he as provided a "bed" of sorts and the contract mentions nothing regarding quality.

His reply was that the previous tennant put a sheet of wood under the mattress to keep it flat and threw it out when he moved out, and he claims he slept in the bed before afterwards and thought it was fine. The bed is so bad, I am now sleeping on the floor and taking painkillers for my back so I can go to work, so him thinking it is fine must be a lie.

What really annoyed me was that in his email, he basically said that he wasn't willing to contribute anything then went on to recommend that I buy a proper double bed that would fit in the same space as the sofa bed, which I found rather cheeky since he knows I was intending to leave it in the apartment when I move out.

Guess I'll just bite the bullet and buy one in Ikea when I get some time. Sure as hell won't be leaving it in the apartment when I move out though. I'll either try and sell it or give it away when I move out. He's not getting a free bed outta me the cheeky sod!

Again.. What may be just fine for one person, may be totally different for another.. If you don't like the provided
bed, then buy your own. If the LL doesn't want to help pay for it, then sell/take it with you when you leave. To save
a bit of $ keep an eye out here for people selling beds.. Theres no need to buy a "New" bed if you can get a slightly
used on a bit cheaper.

What did I tell you? Didn't I tell you that is exactly what he would say? You have to get used to this my friend, and listen to what people tell you. Otherwise, you are going to end up taking anxiety pills like me out of frustration about these situtations. Landlords are not here to help you, they are here to earn money. They are not losing sleep because you are losing sleep. Put this phrase into your vocabulary of "living in Germany." I can guarantee you, 100% of the time, when you make a complaint to someone here, in any situation, you will receive the same response. It was good for the last person. YOU are the one who is crazy to not like xyz. Chalk it up as a lesson learned. And then look in the local paper in the classifieds for not-so-used beds, there are tons of them. You can also go to www.bader.de and order a bed to be delivered to you, if you don't have a car. I got my bed from there b/c I had the exact same situation that you are having now. Except, in my apt, it wasn't only the bed that was kaputt, it was the whole apt. There was mold in the second room. And what was the response of the landlord? "The last guy lived in that room for 15 years and it didn't bother him, so I don't understand why you are complaining now about it." Didn't I tell you? The standard response for all situations in Germany. Oh well, we live and learn.

I have lived in two furnished appartments in Munich, both supplied SofaBed, that is normal. Yes, they are not the most comfortable, in the first place I replaced the mattress of the sofabed, and sold it when I left, and put the old mattress back on the bed (I had that for the floor then when I had guests- it was comfortable for the floor) and in my current place the sofabed, was giving me problems, I asked the owners of the flat to have the old bed removed (so I did not have to pay for that) and bought myself a new comfortable Futonsofabed. I will sell it when i leave (or take it with me- its really comfortable).

Its not their job to give you a new bed, its a furnished apartment, with the basics. You can make it your home and dress it up some, or leave it cold as it is, and continue to complain about it.

I guessed from the first set of replies that there was no way I could make him contribute, which makes sense thinking about it.

As soon as he found out I intended to leave the it in the apartment when I move out, he suggested I buy a double bed, which I found rather cheeky.