Im Mietvertrag steht, dass der Vertrag zuerst nur befristet ist.

Im is a contraction of in dem.

• in = in
• dem = the (dative singular)

So Im Mietvertrag literally means in the rental contract/lease.

In German, in dem is very often shortened to im, especially in everyday language and standard writing.

Because the phrase means in the rental contract, and after in you use the dative when you are talking about a location, not movement.

Here, nothing is moving into the contract; the information is simply located there.

So:

• in den Mietvertrag = into the rental contract (accusative, movement/direction)
• im Mietvertrag = in the rental contract (dative, location)

That is why Mietvertrag is in the dative phrase im Mietvertrag.

Yes, literally steht means stands, but in German it is also commonly used for written information.

So:

• Im Mietvertrag steht ... = It says in the lease ...
• literally: In the lease stands ...

This is a very normal German way to talk about what is written in a text, document, sign, email, law, contract, etc.

Examples:

• Im Buch steht, dass ... = The book says that ...
• Auf dem Schild steht ... = The sign says ...

Because dass introduces a subordinate clause, and in German subordinate clauses are separated by a comma.

So the sentence has two parts:

1. Im Mietvertrag steht
2. dass der Vertrag zuerst nur befristet ist

The comma is required before dass.

Dass means that and introduces the content of what is written in the contract.

So:

• Im Mietvertrag steht = The lease says
• dass der Vertrag zuerst nur befristet ist = that the contract is at first only temporary/fixed-term

It works very much like English that, except that in German it triggers subordinate-clause word order.

Because the part after dass is a subordinate clause, and in German the conjugated verb goes to the end of a subordinate clause.

Main clause:

• Im Mietvertrag steht ...
• verb steht is in second position

Subordinate clause:

• dass der Vertrag zuerst nur befristet ist
• verb ist goes to the end

This is one of the most important word-order rules in German.

Because der Vertrag is the subject of the subordinate clause.

The clause is saying:

• the contract = subject
• is = verb
• zuerst nur befristet = description

So the structure is:

dass + subject + other elements + verb

That gives: dass der Vertrag zuerst nur befristet ist

Yes, German could use er if the reference is clear:

• Im Mietvertrag steht, dass er zuerst nur befristet ist.

That is grammatically possible.

However, repeating der Vertrag is often clearer, especially in formal or legal-style language. Since the sentence is about a contract, using the noun again avoids any ambiguity.

So the repetition sounds more explicit and natural in this context.

Together, zuerst nur means something like:

• at first only
• initially only
• to begin with, only

Here is the idea:

• zuerst = at first / initially
• nur = only

So the sentence suggests that the contract is only temporary at the beginning, possibly with the idea that it may later become something else, such as extended or made permanent.

They do different jobs.

• zuerst talks about time: at the beginning
• nur limits the statement: only

So:

• befristet = fixed-term / temporary
• nur befristet = only temporary
• zuerst nur befristet = only temporary at first

Without zuerst, the sentence would simply say the contract is temporary. Without nur, the sentence would lose the nuance of limitation.

Befristet means limited in time, fixed-term, or temporary.

For contracts, jobs, and rentals, it usually means there is an end date or a set period.

Common contrast:

• befristet = fixed-term / temporary
• unbefristet = open-ended / permanent / indefinite

In this sentence, befristet is being used as a predicate adjective after ist:

• der Vertrag ist befristet = the contract is fixed-term

Usually, yes. Mietvertrag is the agreement for renting something, especially an apartment or house, so in many contexts lease or rental agreement is a good translation.

A few points:

• Miete = rent
• Vertrag = contract
• Mietvertrag = rental contract / lease

The exact English word depends on the legal context, but lease is often the most natural choice.

Yes. In dem Mietvertrag and im Mietvertrag mean the same thing here.

• in dem = full form
• im = contracted form

In normal German, im Mietvertrag is more natural and more common.

Not really in normal standard German. That version sounds unnatural.

A more natural alternative would be:

• Es steht im Mietvertrag, dass der Vertrag zuerst nur befristet ist.
• Im Mietvertrag steht, dass der Vertrag zuerst nur befristet ist.

German is flexible, but not every rearrangement works equally well. The original sentence is a very natural standard way to express this idea.

Yes, it sounds fairly neutral to formal, mainly because of the context and vocabulary:

• Mietvertrag is a legal/administrative word
• repeating der Vertrag sounds clear and somewhat formal
• befristet is standard legal/official vocabulary

So this is the kind of sentence you could easily find in a discussion of rental terms, legal documents, or official communication.