{"id":4829,"date":"2016-01-27T16:58:36","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T16:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/?p=4829"},"modified":"2025-10-28T05:41:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T05:41:38","slug":"gewerbemietrecht-die-berufung-auf-einen-schriftformmangel-durch-den-vermieter-kann-gegen-treu-und-glauben-verstossen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/commercial-tenancy-law-the-landlords-reliance-on-a-defect-in-written-form-may-violate-the-principle-of-good-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Commercial Tenancy Law: The landlord\u2019s reliance on a defect in written form may violate the principle of good faith."},"content":{"rendered":"

Higher Regional Court of Cologne, September 18, 2015, Az.: 1 U 28\/15<\/strong><\/p>\n

In many legal disputes concerning commercial tenancy law, the requirement of written form for rental agreements lasting more than one year, as stipulated in \u00a7 550 of the German Civil Code (BGB), is a subject of prolonged discussions.<\/p>\n

In principle, \u00a7 550 BGB regulates the formal requirements that a rental agreement must meet to be limited to a duration longer than one year.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that \u00a7 550 BGB is not a condition for the validity of the contract itself. This means that rental agreements that do not comply with the written form are still binding on the parties, albeit for a shorter duration.<\/p>\n

In practice, the regulation in \u00a7 550 BGB leads some parties to attempt to \u201econvert\u201c a limited-term rental agreement into an indefinite one to gain corresponding advantages. The case discussed here by the Higher Regional Court of Cologne is an example of such a situation.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Introduction: The Case of a Commercial Lease<\/span><\/h3>\n

The defendant 1) entered into a lease agreement for commercial premises on the ground and basement floors of a multi-family house on October 15, 2010. The contract was limited to five years and could be extended for an additional five years. A rent of \u20ac4,165.00 plus additional costs was agreed upon. Furthermore, there was a clause that excluded subletting.<\/p>\n

In 2011, the plaintiff acquired the property. Shortly thereafter, the defendant requested permission for subletting, which the plaintiff granted under certain conditions. Consequently, a sublease agreement was made with S Tanz GmbH, which paid the rent directly to the plaintiff.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Dispute over Rental Agreement and Subletting<\/span><\/h3>\n

In 2014, the defendant retroactively reduced the rent, and the plaintiff urged her not to exercise the option to extend the lease. Nevertheless, the defendant extended the lease until 2020. The plaintiff then terminated the lease both regularly and extraordinarily.<\/p>\n

The plaintiff argued that the rental agreement had been converted into an indefinite lease due to the subletting based on a violation of the written form and was therefore subject to statutory termination. Additionally, he had only consented to subletting to natural persons, not to the GmbH.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Court Rulings: Regional Court and Higher Regional Court<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Regional Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the first instance and ordered the defendants to vacate the premises. The defendants appealed, which the Higher Regional Court of Cologne allowed. The OLG ruled in favor of the defendants and decided that the rental agreement remained valid until 2020 due to the exercised extension option. Thus, a termination was not legally permissible.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Significance of Written Form in Tenancy Law<\/span><\/h3>\n

The OLG stated that the provisions regarding written form under \u00a7 550 BGB did not apply, as the approval of the subletting was merely a unilateral declaration of intent by the plaintiff that did not change any substantial contractual content. Therefore, there was no violation of the written form. Furthermore, it would be contrary to good faith for the plaintiff to assert a written form violation without giving the defendant the opportunity to rectify the situation.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Conclusion: Continuation of the Rental Agreement<\/span><\/h3>\n

The OLG ruled that the tenancy agreement remains valid until 2020 and that termination by the plaintiff is invalid. The requirements for a cancellation without notice<\/a> were not available, as there was no necessary Warning letter<\/a> was lacking.<\/p>\n

This decision highlights the importance of the written form in tenancy law and the protection of the parties from hasty terminations in long-term rental agreements.<\/p>\n

Source: Higher Regional Court of Cologne<\/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.<\/strong> 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>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pursuant to Section 550 of the German Civil Code (BGB), a tenancy agreement concluded for a period longer than one year must be in writing as stipulated in Section 126 BGB. If this is not complied with by both parties by mutual agreement, the invocation of this defect by one of the parties may be contrary to good faith.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[3025,3024],"class_list":["post-4829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mietrecht-rechtsanwalt","tag-schriftform-des-gewerbemietvertrages","tag-schriftformmangel-550-bgb"],"yoast_head":"\nGewerbemietrecht: Die Berufung auf einen Schriftformmangel durch den Vermieter kann gegen Treu und Glauben versto\u00dfen.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wird die Schriftform von beiden Parteien einvernehmlich nicht eingehalten, kann die Berufung auf diesen Mangel treuwidrig sein.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/commercial-tenancy-law-the-landlords-reliance-on-a-defect-in-written-form-may-violate-the-principle-of-good-faith\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gewerbemietrecht: Die Berufung auf einen Schriftformmangel durch den Vermieter kann gegen Treu und Glauben versto\u00dfen.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wird die Schriftform von beiden Parteien einvernehmlich nicht eingehalten, kann die Berufung auf diesen Mangel treuwidrig sein.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/commercial-tenancy-law-the-landlords-reliance-on-a-defect-in-written-form-may-violate-the-principle-of-good-faith\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rechtsanwaltskanzlei\u00a0Tieben\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" 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