According to the lease agreement, the tenant of a 60-square-meter top-floor apartment also has an underground parking space and a basement room of about six square meters. The tenant pays 43 euros per month for the parking space. The cellar room is included in the apartment rent. At the beginning of the tenancy from February 1, 2012, the tenant used the basement room to store his bicycle and other items. At times, the basement room was vacant. In the fall of 2015, the tenant used the basement room for the last time.
In April 2016, the tenant noticed that the landing to the basement room had been exchanged and the room was being used by another tenant, as there were objects belonging to him that were not his. The tenant demanded information from his landlady as to when the cellar was given to another tenant. For this period, he demanded a rent reduction of 50 euros per month from the landlady. The landlady refused to provide the tenant with the information. It also rejected the rent claim of 743 euros issued by the tenant in October 2016.
The District Court of Brühl (AZ 23 C 182/18) upheld the tenant's claim. Because of the double rental of the basement room, the tenant has a claim to a rent reduction pursuant to Section 536 (1) BGB. In addition, the landlord violated its obligations under the lease by arbitrarily depriving the tenant of the basement room assigned to him. According to the court ruling, the landlord is also obligated to provide the tenant with information about the period of the double rental. Pursuant to Section 242 of the German Civil Code (BGB), the tenant may assert his right to information.
Source: AG Brühl
© photodune.net
