{"id":2746,"date":"2013-01-12T10:05:39","date_gmt":"2013-01-12T10:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/?p=2746"},"modified":"2025-10-28T07:30:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T07:30:44","slug":"mietrecht-rauchender-nachbar-kann-zur-mietminderung-berechtigen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/rental-law-smoking-neighbor-may-entitle-tenant-to-rent-reduction\/","title":{"rendered":"Rental Law: Smoking Neighbor May Entitle Tenant to Rent Reduction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hamburg Regional Court, June 15, 2012, Case No.: 311 S 92\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

If a tenant\u2019s apartment has defects, the tenant has various rights concerning these defects. The most important right is rent reduction. According to the conditions set forth in Section 536(1) of the German Civil Code (BGB), the tenant is entitled to reduce the rent in case of a defect.<\/p>\n

However, care must be taken to avoid risking a regular or extraordinary termination by the landlord. Special caution is advised when determining the amount of the rent reduction.<\/p>\n

The tenant must always exercise the \u201ecustomary due diligence\u201c in determining the extent to which they are entitled to reduce the rent.<\/p>\n

If the tenant reduces the rent excessively or for obviously unreasonable reasons, has caused the defect in whole or in part themselves, or is in arrears with the rent, the landlord may terminate the lease for payment arrears if the necessary conditions are met.<\/p>\n

\"Various<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the case mentioned above from the Hamburg Regional Court, the court had to decide whether a tenant was entitled to a rent reduction because they felt disturbed by the cigarette smoke from their neighbors.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Facts of the Case:<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

<\/span>A heavy-smoking couple lived below the defendant.<\/span><\/h3>\n

The defendant was a tenant of an apartment owned by the plaintiff. Below the defendant\u2019s apartment lived a couple who smoked heavily. As the cigarette smoke entered the defendant\u2019s apartment or prevented the defendant from ventilating their apartment, the defendant reduced the rent.<\/p>\n

The plaintiff subsequently demanded unpaid rent from the defendant, while the defendant, in a counterclaim, sought the reimbursement of part of the rent already paid.<\/p>\n

<\/span>After the tenant had reduced the rent, they were sued by the landlord.<\/span><\/h3>\n

The district court, in the first instance, ruled in favor of the plaintiff on November 2, 2010, and rejected the counterclaim, stating that smoking on the balcony was part of the agreed use of the apartment, and no more than a mediating position could be required from the landlord.<\/p>\n

The defendant appealed this decision to the Hamburg Regional Court.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Appeals Court Ruling from the Hamburg Regional Court<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

<\/span>The Regional Court recognized the rent reduction due to the smoke disturbance.<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Hamburg Regional Court partially agreed with the defendant\u2019s position and ruled that the rent reduction was justified. The intended use of the apartment was significantly impaired by the fact that the tenants below the defendant smoked heavily on their balcony during the relevant period, causing smoke to enter the defendant\u2019s apartment or forcing the defendant to refrain from ventilating.<\/p>\n

A rent reduction is not, as the plaintiff argued, categorically excluded when surrounding tenants smoke. No such principle exists.<\/p>\n

Only the issue of the landlord\u2019s claims for damages against the smoking tenant had been decided by the highest courts (BGH, ruling from June 28, 2006, VIII ZR 124\/05, NJW 2006, 2915, 2917).<\/p>\n

In this case, however, the issue was not the relationship between the landlord and the smoking tenant, but rather between another tenant and the landlord.<\/p>\n

These relationships must be viewed separately. The fact that the landlord might be obligated to accept a tenant\u2019s smoking behavior as part of the agreed use of the apartment only means that, due to a lack of ability to intervene, the defect might be irreparable.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Landlord Must Bear the Burden of a Smoking Neighbor<\/span><\/h3>\n

This does not prevent the affected third tenant from asserting a defect, as under the legal framework, in the case of a defect for which neither party is at fault, it is the landlord, not the tenant, who should bear the burden of the disturbance under the rent reduction rules.<\/p>\n

The situation is no different from other cases where a rental apartment is affected by emissions for which neither party is responsible.<\/p>\n

Source: Hamburg Regional Court<\/p>\n

Important Note: The content of this article has been prepared to the best of our knowledge and belief. However, due to the complexity and constant evolution of the subject matter, we must exclude liability and warranty.<\/b> Important Notice: The content of this article has been created to the best of our knowledge and understanding. However, due to the complexity and constant changes in the subject matter, we must exclude any liability and warranty.<\/p>\n

If you need legal advice, feel free to call us at 0221 \u2013 80187670 or email us at info@mth-partner.de.<\/p>\n

Lawyers in Cologne provide advice and representation in tenancy law.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many defects can entitle a tenant to a rent reduction. However, whether and when a tenant is entitled to a rent reduction if the neighbour is a heavy smoker and this results in odour nuisance for the tenant is repeatedly the subject of court rulings.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1462,1464,1467],"class_list":["post-2746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mietrecht-rechtsanwalt","tag-rechtsanwalt-koln-mietminderung","tag-rechtsanwalt-koln-mietvertrag","tag-rechtsanwalt-koln-raumungsklage"],"yoast_head":"\nMietrecht: Rauchender Nachbar kann zur Mietminderung berechtigen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Weist die Wohnung eines Mieters M\u00e4ngel auf, hat der Mieter die verschiedensten M\u00e4ngelrechte.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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