Good advice

If landlords modernize a rented apartment, they must make the costs transparent. However, a breakdown of the individual items is not required, as the BGH recently ruled (VIII ZR 337/21, VIII ZR 339/21 and VIII ZR 361/21). In the cases in question, modernization measures had been implemented by landlords in Bremen and had resulted in tenants having to pay...

In Berlin, tenants benefit from a ten-year protection against dismissal whenever a rented apartment is to be converted into a condominium. In a recent ruling (VIII ZR 356/20), the Federal Court of Justice clarified that "the period of non-termination after the formation and sale of condominiums within the meaning of Section 577a (1) BGB is limited to ten years for the entire area of...

An architect commissioned to carry out the basic assessment and design planning is not obliged to protect his client from possible tax damages. This was recently decided by the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main (OLG, Ref. 29 U 185/20). In this case, clients wanted to renovate their attic apartment and commissioned an architect to provide services. They paid the architect...

Hartz V recipients are not allowed to live permanently in housing that is too expensive - despite a special regulation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was recently decided by the North Rhine-Westphalia Regional Social Court (LSG). The reason for this is that the so-called "SGB appropriateness test" can be suspended for a maximum of six months. After that, Section 22, Book 2 of the SGB applies again. This states the following:...

If an heir cannot use the family home themselves for health reasons, they do not lose the inheritance tax exemption for it. This was decided by the Federal Fiscal Court (BFH, judgment of December 1, 2021 - II R 18/20). In this case, a claimant had lived in the single-family home inherited from her father for a while. However, due to health problems, she had been living there...

Italy may oblige real estate agents such as Airbnb to withhold 21% tax on the rent and pay it to the tax authorities. The freedom to provide services does not preclude either the obligation to collect and transmit information or the obligation to withhold taxes. This is the opinion of Advocate General Maciej Szpunar of the European Court of Justice (ECJ)...

Does a community of owners have to pay for the costs of tap water damage in an individual apartment if the insurance only partially reimburses them? The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) will examine this question at a hearing on Friday, September 16, 9 am. The case has already been heard by the Cologne District Court (AZ: 204 C 171/19) and the Cologne Regional Court (AZ: 29 S 146/20)....

Landlords may not simply pass on the costs of smoke detectors to their tenants via the service charge bill. This is because the costs are not apportionable. This was decided by the Federal Court of Justice (VIII ZR 379/20). In this case, a landlady installed smoke alarms and commissioned a company to carry out maintenance. She informed her tenant of the expected costs and...

In Stuttgart, residents living in an environmental and truck transit ban zone must continue to accept the passage of trucks. This has now been decided by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH; VI ZR 110/21). The residents had sued for injunctive relief because a haulage company "violated the ban on through traffic several times a day" and they assumed that the passage of trucks posed a health hazard. Even before the...

Are property owners entitled to Harzt IV benefits? This depends on the size of the property and the number of residents, as the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) has now ruled (1 BvL 12/20). This is because "funds of the general public that are intended to help its needy members can only be used in cases of actual need", according to the...