Anyone who sublets his rented apartment or part of it to others without the landlord's permission may be at risk of termination. In the present case, the tenant of a five-room apartment in Berlin sublet one of her rooms to tourists. She also placed an ad on the AirBnb portal. At her request, a friend of the landlady booked a room with the tenant. As a result, the landlords issued a warning to the tenant.
She deleted the ad on AirBnb, but continued to rent the room to tourists. This time, too, the landlords found out about the unauthorized subletting, because the tenant's friend received a phone number, which the tenant said she would be happy to pass on to acquaintances if anyone was looking for a room. Thereupon, the landlords issued a termination without notice and, in the alternative, an ordinary termination. They also filed a lawsuit and demanded that the tenant vacate and surrender the apartment (AZ 63 S 309/19).
The district court upheld the action. The tenant's appeal to the Berlin Regional Court (LG) was unsuccessful. With her actions and the unauthorized subletting, the tenant committed a significant breach of duty. The courts ruled that the alternative ordinary termination was effective pursuant to Section 573 of the German Civil Code (BGB). The objection that the landlord's girlfriend had checked into the room for the purpose of inspection did not stand up in the courts' view. After all, the girlfriend had been in the apartment in the presence of the tenant and with her knowledge, and thus there was no question of trespassing.
Source: LG Berlin
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