A tenant cannot reclaim rent that has been paid in excess if it is paid by a benefit provider such as a job center. This was recently decided by the Berlin Regional Court (case reference: 64 S 190/21). The case in question involved a tenant who had sued his landlord for repayment. The district court dismissed the claim because the tenant received social benefits and was therefore not entitled to repayment. Instead, this claim was transferred to the job center.
The Köpenick district court had previously ordered the landlord to repay EUR 11,513.77 plus interest. However, the Berlin Regional Court overturned this ruling. It based its decision on the fact that the plaintiff was not entitled to assert the repayment claims. After all, the job center had made the rent payments. This meant that all of the tenant's claims had been transferred to the Jobcenter. However, the Jobcenter had not authorized the plaintiff to assert claims for repayment.
An appeal can still be lodged against the ruling, it is not yet legally binding. The court has allowed the appeal as there are a large number of such cases and the decision is of fundamental importance. The ruling could therefore also have an impact on other cases.
Source: berlin.de/LG Berlin, AZ: 64 S 190/21, AG Köpenick, AZ: C 260/20
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