{"id":5546,"date":"2020-03-16T07:30:20","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T07:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/?p=5546"},"modified":"2025-06-16T18:37:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T18:37:43","slug":"mietrecht-schadensersatz-wegen-diskriminierung-eines-tuerkischen-interessenten-bei-wohnungsvermietung","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/tenancy-law-compensation-for-discrimination-against-a-turkish-applicant-in-apartment-rental\/","title":{"rendered":"Tenancy Law: Compensation for Discrimination Against a Turkish Applicant in Apartment Rental"},"content":{"rendered":"

District Court of Charlottenburg, January 14, 2020, Case No. 203 C 31\/19<\/strong><\/p>\n

Under the principle of private autonomy in private law, which derives from the general freedom of action under Article 2 of the German Basic Law (GG), individuals are free to choose their contractual partners and may reject them. However, the legislator has enacted the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) to prevent or eliminate discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, religion or belief, disability, age, or sexual identity. This applies particularly to access to publicly offered housing under \u00a7 2 I No. 8 AGG. If there is a violation of the prohibition of discrimination, the affected person is entitled to various claims. According to \u00a7 21 AGG, they can demand the elimination of discrimination (\u00a7 21 I 1 AGG) and future abstention from such behavior (\u00a7 21 I 2 AGG). Additionally, they are entitled to claim compensation (\u00a7 21 II 1 AGG). If the damage is non-material, such as a violation of personal rights, the victim can also claim financial compensation. Proving discrimination, however, is not always easy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In the following ruling, the District Court of Charlottenburg clarified that sufficient evidence of ethnic discrimination during the application process for an apartment can justify a claim for damages.<\/p>\n

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

<\/span>A rejected Turkish apartment applicant claims compensation for discrimination<\/span><\/h3>\n

In this case, the parties disputed whether one party discriminated against the other during the apartment allocation process due to their name. The plaintiff was an apartment applicant with a Turkish-sounding name, and the defendant was a landlord offering more than 100,000 apartments in Berlin.<\/p>\n

In October 2018, the plaintiff applied for a viewing of an apartment advertised by the defendant. The application included only the plaintiff\u2019s name and contact details, without any other personal information. The application was rejected, citing the number of other applicants. On the day of the rejection, the plaintiff reapplied for the same apartment using a fictitious German-sounding name and received an invitation to view the apartment the next day. The plaintiff went to the defendant\u2019s service point and submitted his application materials. Despite the invitation, a staff member informed him that the apartment had already been rented out. The plaintiff then asked a colleague, uninvolved in the matter, to pose as the man with the fictitious name and inquire about the apartment\u2019s status. The defendant\u2019s employee, over the phone, confirmed that the apartment was still available for viewing.<\/p>\n

<\/span>The plaintiff had applied to several apartment listings from the defendant<\/span><\/h3>\n

In November, the same scenario occurred for another apartment advertised by the defendant. The plaintiff then contacted the Berlin Anti-Discrimination Office for Housing, which confronted the defendant with the case. The Anti-Discrimination Office pointed out that discrimination in violation of \u00a7 21 AGG had occurred. Furthermore, the plaintiff asserted claims for elimination, abstention, damages, and compensation. The defendant rejected the discrimination claim, arguing that an error occurred due to the large volume of applications.<\/p>\n

The plaintiff also reported that his email address was blocked for online inquiries on the defendant\u2019s website after the Anti-Discrimination Office sent a letter to the defendant.<\/p>\n

The plaintiff requested that the court order the defendant to pay appropriate compensation.<\/p>\n

The defendant argued that invitations and rejections were distributed randomly and that its employees did not discriminate based on whether a name sounded German or Turkish. It also denied blocking the plaintiff\u2019s email address, explaining that it had only been put in a mode that disabled automatically generated responses while it internally reviewed the plaintiff\u2019s accusations. Additionally, the defendant asserted that its employees believed they were acting in accordance with the AGG, and therefore, no fault could be established.<\/p>\n

The defendant requested the court to dismiss the case.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Ruling of the District Court of Charlottenburg:<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

<\/span>District Court of Charlottenburg ordered the landlord to pay EUR 3,000.00 in damages<\/span><\/h3>\n

The District Court of Charlottenburg ruled that the claim was admissible and well-founded, ordering the defendant to pay \u20ac3,000 to the plaintiff.<\/p>\n

The court first determined that the AGG was applicable, as the dispute concerned the public offering of housing under \u00a7 2 I No. 8 AGG. It further concluded that the evidence indicated the rejection was based on the plaintiff\u2019s Turkish-sounding name, and the defendant could not prove otherwise. As such, the court confirmed a violation of the prohibition of discrimination based on ethnic origin under \u00a7 19 II AGG. The discrimination was evident in the less favorable treatment of a comparable situation for reasons outlined in \u00a7 1 AGG, in this case, ethnic origin. This applied even in the pre-rental stage during the application process.<\/p>\n

<\/span>An applicant with a German-sounding name was treated more favorably<\/span><\/h3>\n

An applicant with a German-sounding name was treated more favorably than an applicant with a Turkish-sounding name, which the plaintiff was able to demonstrate with sufficient evidence. The court also found that the \u201etesting procedure\u201c carried out by the plaintiff and his colleague using a false name was permissible. The defendant failed to refute the compelling evidence. The court was convinced that the rejection was at least possibly based on ethnic origin. A staff member testified that they considered maintaining a \u201ehealthy mix\u201c in the apartment building, including the applicants\u2018 origins. Although she later softened this statement, the court had significant doubts and noted further inconsistencies. While a \u201ehealthy mix\u201c could justify unequal treatment under \u00a7 19 III AGG for \u201epositive measures\u201c as per \u00a7 5 AGG, the defendant could not substantiate this purpose.<\/p>\n

<\/span>The court found that the discrimination was at least negligent<\/span><\/h3>\n

The court also rejected the argument that the plaintiff\u2019s claim under \u00a7 21 II 3 AGG required intentional discrimination, as no such limitation was evident. It further determined that the discrimination was at least negligent. The court reasoned that the defendant made no meaningful efforts to prevent such discrimination, for example, by failing to provide training to its staff, which would have been expected given the large number of apartments (over 100,000) it rented out.<\/p>\n

In determining the amount of damages, the court considered the satisfaction of the victim, the severity of the violation of personal rights, and the preventive effect of the award. The court also factored in the degree of fault and intent behind the discrimination. It deemed \u20ac3,000 to be appropriate, emphasizing that the plaintiff was significantly restricted in his access to a substantial portion of the Berlin housing market due to the defendant\u2019s large portfolio.<\/p>\n

Finally, the court noted the two-month deadline in \u00a7 21 V AGG, within which the plaintiff must assert his claim to the defendant.<\/p>\n

Source: District Court of Charlottenburg<\/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, please feel free to call us at 0221 - 80187670<\/strong> or send us an email at or send an email to info@mth-partner.de info@mth-partner.de<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

If a tenant is discriminated against because of their age, gender, origin, etc., they can demand money.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[3378,3186],"class_list":["post-5546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mietrecht-rechtsanwalt","tag-auslaender-bekommt-wohnung-nicht","tag-gleichbehandlungsgrundsatz-arbeitsrecht"],"yoast_head":"\nMietrecht: Schadensersatz wegen Diskriminierung eines t\u00fcrkischen Interessenten bei Wohnungsvermietung - Rechtsanwaltskanzlei\u00a0Tieben<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bekommt ein Bewerber die Wohnung deswegen nicht, weil er ausl\u00e4ndischer Herkunft ist, kann ein Schadensersatzanspruch bestehen.\" \/>\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\/tenancy-law-compensation-for-discrimination-against-a-turkish-applicant-in-apartment-rental\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mietrecht: Schadensersatz wegen Diskriminierung eines t\u00fcrkischen Interessenten bei Wohnungsvermietung - Rechtsanwaltskanzlei\u00a0Tieben\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bekommt ein Bewerber die Wohnung deswegen nicht, weil er ausl\u00e4ndischer Herkunft ist, kann ein Schadensersatzanspruch bestehen.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/tenancy-law-compensation-for-discrimination-against-a-turkish-applicant-in-apartment-rental\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rechtsanwaltskanzlei\u00a0Tieben\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100054481000178\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-16T07:30:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-16T18:37:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/Zivilrecht.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"helmer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mth_Tieben\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mth_Tieben\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"helmer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tenancy law: Compensation for discrimination against a Turkish prospective tenant when renting a flat - Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Tieben","description":"If an applicant does not get the flat because he or she is of foreign origin, there may be a claim for damages.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/tenancy-law-compensation-for-discrimination-against-a-turkish-applicant-in-apartment-rental\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mietrecht: Schadensersatz wegen Diskriminierung eines t\u00fcrkischen Interessenten bei Wohnungsvermietung - Rechtsanwaltskanzlei\u00a0Tieben","og_description":"Bekommt ein Bewerber die Wohnung deswegen nicht, weil er ausl\u00e4ndischer Herkunft ist, kann ein Schadensersatzanspruch bestehen.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/tenancy-law-compensation-for-discrimination-against-a-turkish-applicant-in-apartment-rental\/","og_site_name":"Rechtsanwaltskanzlei\u00a0Tieben","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100054481000178","article_published_time":"2020-03-16T07:30:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-16T18:37:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/Zivilrecht.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"helmer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@mth_Tieben","twitter_site":"@mth_Tieben","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"helmer","Estimated reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/mietrecht-schadensersatz-wegen-diskriminierung-eines-tuerkischen-interessenten-bei-wohnungsvermietung\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/mietrecht-schadensersatz-wegen-diskriminierung-eines-tuerkischen-interessenten-bei-wohnungsvermietung\/"},"author":{"name":"helmer","@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/#\/schema\/person\/fbcf627706a8a6151cec2217af8c74b3"},"headline":"Mietrecht: Schadensersatz wegen Diskriminierung eines t\u00fcrkischen Interessenten bei Wohnungsvermietung","datePublished":"2020-03-16T07:30:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-16T18:37:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/mietrecht-schadensersatz-wegen-diskriminierung-eines-tuerkischen-interessenten-bei-wohnungsvermietung\/"},"wordCount":1221,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/mietrecht-schadensersatz-wegen-diskriminierung-eines-tuerkischen-interessenten-bei-wohnungsvermietung\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/Zivilrecht.jpg","keywords":["Ausl\u00e4nder bekommt Wohnung nicht","Gleichbehandlungsgrundsatz Arbeitsrecht"],"articleSection":["Zivilrecht"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/mietrecht-schadensersatz-wegen-diskriminierung-eines-tuerkischen-interessenten-bei-wohnungsvermietung\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/mietrecht-schadensersatz-wegen-diskriminierung-eines-tuerkischen-interessenten-bei-wohnungsvermietung\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/mietrecht-schadensersatz-wegen-diskriminierung-eines-tuerkischen-interessenten-bei-wohnungsvermietung\/","name":"Tenancy law: Compensation for discrimination against a Turkish prospective tenant when renting a flat - Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Tieben","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/mietrecht-schadensersatz-wegen-diskriminierung-eines-tuerkischen-interessenten-bei-wohnungsvermietung\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/mietrecht-schadensersatz-wegen-diskriminierung-eines-tuerkischen-interessenten-bei-wohnungsvermietung\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/Zivilrecht.jpg","datePublished":"2020-03-16T07:30:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-16T18:37:43+00:00","description":"If an applicant does not get the flat because he or she is of foreign origin, there may be a claim for damages.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/mietrecht-schadensersatz-wegen-diskriminierung-eines-tuerkischen-interessenten-bei-wohnungsvermietung\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/mietrecht-schadensersatz-wegen-diskriminierung-eines-tuerkischen-interessenten-bei-wohnungsvermietung\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/mietrecht-schadensersatz-wegen-diskriminierung-eines-tuerkischen-interessenten-bei-wohnungsvermietung\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/Zivilrecht.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/Zivilrecht.jpg","width":1200,"height":600,"caption":"Zivilrecht"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/mietrecht-schadensersatz-wegen-diskriminierung-eines-tuerkischen-interessenten-bei-wohnungsvermietung\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Zivilrecht","item":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/category\/mietrecht-rechtsanwalt\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Mietrecht: Schadensersatz wegen Diskriminierung eines t\u00fcrkischen Interessenten bei Wohnungsvermietung"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/","name":"Law firm Tieben","description":"Lawyer Tieben \/ Law firm Cologne","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/#organization","name":"Law firm Tieben","url":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo.png","width":254,"height":52,"caption":"Rechtsanwaltskanzlei\u00a0Tieben"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100054481000178","https:\/\/x.com\/mth_Tieben","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/helmer-tieben-09570226"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/#\/schema\/person\/fbcf627706a8a6151cec2217af8c74b3","name":"helmer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3308295754604f18007cf9e14e5984d1b864d3edea19e3681ff8c9354cd73e8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3308295754604f18007cf9e14e5984d1b864d3edea19e3681ff8c9354cd73e8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3308295754604f18007cf9e14e5984d1b864d3edea19e3681ff8c9354cd73e8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"helmer"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5546"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6704,"href":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5546\/revisions\/6704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}