A landlord may not immediately give notice to a tenant who has withheld part of her rent due to the Berlin rent cap. This has now been decided by the Berlin Regional Court. In this case, the tenant had withheld part of the rent since March 2020 in reliance on the rent cap. She did not pay this part back immediately after the rent cap ended in spring 2021, but only in June 2021.
The landlady then gave her notice to quit due to late payment and brought an action for eviction before the Berlin-Mitte district court. Without success. The appeal before the Berlin Regional Court was also unsuccessful. According to the district court, a landlord can in principle demand the return of the withheld amounts. However, the tenant must receive a request for payment or a reminder in advance.
In this case, the landlord had neither requested payment from the tenant nor issued a reminder. The Berlin Regional Court also pointed out the following in its decision: The legal issues arising from the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court in connection with the Berlin rent cap are complex and difficult for tenants to assess - even with the help of professional legal advice.
Source: Berlin Regional Court/File No. 67 S 298/21
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