Good advice

The heating season regularly raises questions about the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. Landlords are obliged to provide a functioning heating system that guarantees the minimum standard of room temperature during the heating season (October 1 to April 30). If this is not the case, tenants may be able to demand a rent reduction. Defects such as a...

The Leverkusen Local Court ruled that a landlord may not terminate a tenant's lease without notice for stealing electricity for an electric car (AZ: 22 C 157/23). In this case, tenants had repeatedly charged their hybrid vehicle at a general socket in the apartment building. This led to displeasure among the neighbors. Despite the small amount of damage of 48 euros, the landlord had a...

In the event of a change of ownership, a right of first refusal in rem for relatives takes precedence over the tenant's right of first refusal, even if the tenancy existed beforehand. This is the result of a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice (case reference: V ZR 48/23). The right in rem remains in place even after a divorce if the ex-partners have been granted corresponding rights of first refusal in rem.

A building insurer is obliged to advise the buyer of an insured property. This was decided by the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court (AZ: 1 O 164/21). If the buyer wishes to take over the existing insurance or pay the premium, makes this clear to the insurer and no advice is given, the insurer may be liable for possible underinsurance....

The hammer and ladder right also applies to earthworks on neighboring properties. This means that, under certain conditions, owners have the right to enter neighboring properties and place ladders or construction equipment there, for example. This is the case if necessary construction or repair work is being carried out on your own property from the neighboring property...

Tenants are not obliged to vacate their apartments for modernization work. This applies in particular to properties in need of refurbishment where modernization work is planned and can be carried out without temporarily displacing tenants. However, there are also exceptions. One such exception is when the measures in a dilapidated building cannot be carried out in any other way. So decided...

Simple garden areas such as lawns, plant beds and a garden shed are not considered "elaborately designed living environment". Therefore, no rent increase can be demanded for them. This was decided by the Berlin-Schöneberg district court (AZ: 105 C 226/23). In this case, a landlady wanted to increase the rent. She was of the opinion that the garden area on the property...

A tenant wanted to install an awning on his balcony and asked his landlord for permission. However, the landlord refused because he feared that the building would be visually impaired. The case finally ended up before the Munich district court (case no.: 411 C 4836/13). The court ruled that the landlord could not refuse consent to the installation. The tenant's interest in protecting himself from...

Tax reductions for energy-related renovations such as the installation of modern heating systems only become effective once the invoice has been paid in full. This decision affects owners who modernize their heating systems and expect tax benefits. This is the result of a ruling by the Federal Fiscal Court (IX R 31/23). In this case, the plaintiffs had replaced their heating system with a new...

The Cologne Fiscal Court recently rejected a test case against the new property tax assessment according to the federal model. In this case, the focus was on a condominium whose property tax value had been determined on the basis of a standard land value of EUR 2,280. The plaintiffs argued that the new valuation according to the federal model was unconstitutional, as it led to a significant increase in...