A homeowners' association (WEG) consisting of three parties stipulated in its declaration of division that the apartments may only be rented with the written consent of the other two WEG parties. When the owners of one unit wanted to rent their apartment to a family, the other owners of the community demanded to see the rental agreement. However, the renting owners refused to present the rental agreement, which meant that they did not receive permission to rent from the other owners.
However, the owners decided to hand over the apartment to the family with four children anyway. However, they did not receive any rent during the entire period. After more than a year, the family moved out. After moving out, the apartment owners continued to argue about whether the rental should have been approved. In its ruling (AZ V ZR 300/18), the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) decided that the consent of the other WEG members to the rental may not be made dependent on whether a rental agreement exists. Accordingly, they have wrongly refused consent. There is no obligation to present a rental agreement to the other WEG members.
Information that must be provided on the part of the renting owner concerns information about the tenants themselves. This includes, for example, the name and profession, the number of people who want to move in, as well as the marital status and the residential address. It must thus be proven and ensured that the new tenants will abide by the house rules and will be able to integrate into the residential community with its rules and respect the rights of the other owners. If this information is not provided or if the owners have concrete fears that the tenants' behavior could be faulty, this would be a possible reason for rejection. A rental agreement, on the other hand, regulates contractual aspects, such as the amount of rent and internal arrangements, which are of no concern to the other WEG owners.
Source: BGH
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