Good advice

The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) will shortly be hearing a case concerning the duty of disclosure of a real estate seller during a due diligence investigation (V ZR 77/22). The focus is on the question of what responsibility the real estate seller bears for providing relevant information, in particular in the context of pre-contractual assurances about future...

According to the Administrative Court of Neustadt an der Weinstraße, owners must place their waste garbage cans somewhere other than their property if it cannot be accessed by the waste collection service for factual or legal reasons (AZ: 4 K 488/22.NW). This applies in particular if access is only possible in reverse. The reason for this is that, according to the...

The award procedure for the planning services for the new Asklepios clinic building in Hamburg-Altona can be continued with the existing award documents. This was recently decided by the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court (1 Verg 3/22). However, a re-evaluation of the bidders' final offers is required. The decision upheld an appeal by Asklepios-Kliniken in Hamburg against a decision by the...

An extraordinary termination of a gym contract due to coronavirus protection measures is invalid according to the Munich District Court. The local court therefore ordered the defendant to pay the outstanding membership fees of around 1,200 euros (case no. 161 C 2028/22). The defendant from Munich concluded an 18-month gym contract in April 2021 with a monthly membership fee of 74...

Betting outlets in Berlin that operate without a permit and do not comply with the minimum distance to gaming arcades (500 meters) or schools (200 meters) must be temporarily closed. This was recently decided by the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court (OVG) (OVG 1 S 5/23). The ruling confirms several decisions by the Berlin Administrative Court...

A tenant cannot reclaim rent that has been paid in excess if it is paid by a benefit provider such as a job center. This was recently decided by the Berlin Regional Court (case reference: 64 S 190/21). The case in question involved a tenant who had sued his landlord for repayment. The district court dismissed the claim because the tenant was receiving social benefits and was therefore not entitled to...

A dispute over a cypress tree on the property boundary of two neighbors in Trudering recently occupied the Munich District Court (case no. 155 C 10864/18). The roots of the cypress tree, which stands on the defendant's property, are said to have lifted the neighbor's garage foundation. The door could hardly be opened. Cracks had also appeared in the side wall of the garage. The...

The agreement of reservation fees in the general terms and conditions of real estate agents is invalid. This was recently decided by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH). The decision also applies to cases in which the reservation fee is not included in the original brokerage contract but was agreed separately at a later date. Customers can therefore claim the reservation fee paid...

A creditor can extinguish a landowner's right of residence if the landowner is insolvent. This was recently decided by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH, V ZB 64/21). In the case in question, a property owner of a developed plot of land contributed it to a civil law partnership (GbR). The GbR was in turn entered in the land register and an entry of the...

The taxpayers' association and the property owners' association Haus und Grund want to take legal action against property tax in five federal states. This is according to various media reports. One of the reasons for this is a study commissioned by the two associations. In this study, it becomes clear that the constitutional lawyer Gregor Kirchhoff considers the tax system applied in numerous...