A landlord may not simply turn off the hot water to his tenants, even in summer. This was decided by the Administrative Court of Frankfurt (case number 8 L 1907/22.F). In the case in question, a landlord had cut off the gas supply to his tenants in the summer due to the Ukraine conflict and the associated supply shortages and price increases.
The landlord stated that he wanted to protect his tenants from price increases. In addition, he was not obligated by the lease agreement to provide hot water. In addition, he was of the opinion that the tenants could have prepared their hot water in the kitchen and switched to electric heating in winter. An elderly resident in need of care then complained. Among other things, she argued that hot water was important for personal hygiene and also a prerequisite for healthy living.
The housing authority of the city of Frankfurt then issued an order requiring the landlord (owner) to restore the gas supply to the property within one week. The owner wanted to defend himself against this order by filing an emergency motion. However, the Frankfurt Administrative Court ruled in favor of the resident and thus followed the housing authority. According to the administrative court, hot water is one of the minimum standards for dignified living in Germany. Moreover, the costs for hot water and heating are borne by the tenants' advance service charge payments. The actual costs are also determined, with the year-end statement.
Source: verwaltungsgerichtsbarkeit.hessen.de/AZ: 8 L 1907/22.F
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