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...
If an owner builds a pool on his property and the leaves of 90-year-old oak trees fall into it from the neighboring property, he cannot demand cost sharing from the neighbor due to the increased cleaning effort. This was decided by the Frankfurt am Main Higher Regional Court (AZ: 19 U 67/23). In the case at hand, the plaintiff had purchased her property in 2016, built an unroofed...
When buying a house that has known defects, no warranty rights can be asserted. A man who bought a house with obvious moisture damage and a necessary pump installation in the basement discovered further significant damage to the roof after the purchase. Despite the exclusion of liability for material defects in the purchase contract, he demanded compensation as he had fraudulently...
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) recently clarified the concept of defects when purchasing apartments in old buildings in a decision (V ZR 79/23). It stated that apartments must be dry and habitable in order to be considered free of defects. This even applies to basement apartments in old buildings near a river. In the present case, basement apartments were sold that had damp exterior walls...
According to a recent BGH ruling (AZ: V ZR 241/23), condominium owners have the option of delegating decisions regarding the common property to an administrator. This applies in particular to decisions regarding the implementation of maintenance measures that the owners have already decided on. In the case at hand, a homeowners' association had decided to replace...
Landlords cannot simply demand higher rents due to inflation. This is the result of a landmark decision by the Regional Court of Munich I (case no. 14 S 3692/24). In this case, the plaintiff demanded consent to a rent increase that exceeded the rent values of the 2023 rent index. She justified this with an unusual increase in local comparative rents...
A tenant who blocks the driveway by parking incorrectly does not provide sufficient grounds for terminating the tenancy without notice or with due notice. This was decided by the Regional Court of Berlin II (AZ: 63 S 193/23). The court classified the disadvantage caused by the incorrect parking as merely a disturbance of property and not a breach of contract. Both the termination without notice and the ordinary termination were...
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