{"id":5765,"date":"2021-07-19T11:38:37","date_gmt":"2021-07-19T11:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/?p=5765"},"modified":"2025-09-25T06:20:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T06:20:57","slug":"mietrecht-mieter-muss-weder-fuer-unbrauchbare-wohnung-noch-fuer-ersatzwohnung-zahlen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/tenancy-law-tenant-is-not-required-to-pay-for-an-unusable-apartment-or-a-replacement-apartment\/","title":{"rendered":"Tenancy Law: Tenant is not required to pay for an unusable apartment or a replacement apartment."},"content":{"rendered":"

LG Berlin, Judgment of March 25, 2021 \u2013 67 S 336\/20<\/strong><\/p>\n

If an apartment has a defect, the tenant may reduce the rent to a reasonable extent as long as the defect persists. If the apartment is uninhabitable and the tenant can no longer live in it, the tenant is entitled to reduce the rent entirely, meaning they no longer have to pay any rent.<\/p>\n

However, this generally does not apply if the landlord provides the tenant with an equivalent replacement apartment. In such cases, the tenant\u2019s right to reduce the rent may be fully excluded. However, if the landlord provides the tenant with a non-equivalent replacement apartment and also fails to document a proper contractual agreement, this may result in the tenant not having to pay any rent at all. This was the situation in the present case.<\/p>\n

In such cases, the question often arises as to when a flat is considered uninhabitable. The flat is always considered uninhabitable if it is objectively impossible to use the rooms. The tenant may also not be charged the ancillary costs if the flat is uninhabitable during this time.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Facts of the Court Case<\/span><\/h2>\n

<\/span>The apartment was uninhabitable due to water damage and subsequent renovations.<\/span><\/h3>\n

The plaintiff in this case is the landlord, the defendant was the tenant. The defendant had rented a flat from the plaintiff (hereinafter referred to as the \"main flat\"). Due to refurbishment and modernisation measures, this flat was uninhabitable. Particularly in the case of a replacement flat during refurbishment, it must be checked whether it is comparable to the main flat in terms of size, furnishings and location. Only then would a payment obligation on the part of the tenant be conceivable at all.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Landlord Provides Tenant with a Small Replacement Apartment:<\/span><\/h3>\n

The plaintiff provided the defendant with an apartment in a side wing (hereinafter referred to as the \u201etemporary apartment\u201c) for the period from May 2019 to January 2020. During this time, the defendant did not pay rent for either the main apartment or the temporary apartment. Consequently, the plaintiff terminated the defendant\u2019s lease and sued for the return of the main apartment or, alternatively, for payment of rent\/compensation for use amounting to \u20ac15,480.00 for the temporary apartment.<\/p>\n

<\/span>District Court Dismisses the Lawsuit, Plaintiff Appeals:<\/span><\/h3>\n

The district court initially dismissed the lawsuit, stating that the main apartment was uninhabitable. There was no contractual agreement regarding the temporary apartment, and due to the lack of comparability between the apartments, no compensation for use was owed. The plaintiff then appealed to the Berlin Regional Court.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Decision of the Berlin Regional Court:<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Berlin Regional Court also followed the district court\u2019s decision. The plaintiff had no claims against the defendant for vacating and returning the main apartment, nor for payment for either of the two contested apartments.<\/p>\n

<\/span>No Claim for Eviction:<\/span><\/h3>\n

The claimed eviction demand was unfounded because the conditions under \u00a7\u00a7 985, 546(1) BGB (German Civil Code) were not met, as the tenancy had not been terminated. The contested terminations had not ended the tenancy of the main apartment according to \u00a7\u00a7 543(1), (2) sentence 1 no. 3, 573(1), (2) no. 1 BGB.<\/p>\n

The defendants were not in arrears with rent payments. From May 2019 to February 19, 2020, they were fully exempt from paying rent for the main apartment under \u00a7 536(1) sentence 1 BGB, as the rented property was uninhabitable during this period due to water damage and subsequent renovation and modernization work. The plaintiff had not even informed the defendant about the restoration of the usability of the main apartment.<\/p>\n

The rent reduction was not precluded by the fact that the plaintiff had provided the defendant with a temporary apartment during the period when the main apartment was unusable.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Since the Replacement Apartment Was Not Comparable, the Tenant Did Not Have to Pay Rent:<\/span><\/h3>\n

To the extent that the plaintiff argued that an agreement had been made with the defendants regarding the offer of the temporary apartment as a contractual amendment through the temporary exchange of the rental property \u2013 possibly also associated with a different rental payment agreement \u2013 there was already a lack of sufficiently substantiated evidence regarding the conclusion and content of such an agreement. Despite the defendant\u2019s denial and the district court\u2019s objections, the plaintiff continued to fail to present specific details of the alleged agreement.<\/p>\n

It was also irrelevant whether the plaintiff\u2019s claim that they had \u201eunequivocally\u201c informed the defendants of the rent paid by the previous tenants and pointed out \u201ethat this rent would now be payable by the defendants for the use of the (temporary) apartment,\u201c despite the contradiction to the other description of the alleged agreement, was sufficiently substantiated and potentially conclusive. In any event, the plaintiff was unable to prove this claim.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Replacement Apartment Was Significantly Smaller with Inferior Furnishings:<\/span><\/h3>\n

The assumption of an implied agreement and the resulting right of the plaintiff to provide the required performance by offering the temporary apartment, thus eliminating the right to rent reduction, could not be derived from \u00a7 536 BGB. It would only be justified through supplementary contract interpretation if the plaintiff had provided a comparable and equivalent apartment (cf. LG Berlin, judgment of July 8, 2020 \u2013 65 S 232\/19, GE 2020, 1560; AG Hamburg, judgment of August 27, 2014 \u2013 41 C 14\/14, WuM 2014, 718; Blank\/B\u00f6rstinghaus, 6th ed. 2020, BGB, \u00a7 536 Rz. 186a; a.A. Horst, NZM 1999, 193, 194). However, this was already lacking in view of the significantly smaller size of the temporary apartment (at most 90 sqm instead of 130 sqm), its inferior furnishings and condition (including mold growth, heavily soiled stove). The elimination of the right to rent reduction due to an implied right to substitute performance would also be precluded by the fact that the use of the replacement apartment involved significant restrictions for the defendant (cf. LG Berlin, a.a.O.). According to their undisputed submissions, the defendants were already prevented from fully moving their furniture into the temporary apartment, as some of the furniture could not be transported from the main apartment to the temporary apartment due to the narrow staircase. Therefore, it could be left open whether \u00a7\u00a7 536(4), 555a(4), 555d(7) BGB already opposed the contractual elimination of the right to rent reduction (cf. LG Berlin, a.a.O.; LG Munich, judgment of December 9, 2011 \u2013 14 S 9823\/11, BeckRS 2011, 29380 para. 27 ff.; H\u00e4ublein, in: M\u00fcKoBGB, 8th ed. 2020, BGB \u00a7 536 Rz. 50).<\/p>\n

Relying on a complete rent reduction due to the uninhabitability of the main apartment was not in bad faith (\u00a7 242 BGB) in the present case due to the lack of agreement on the payment for the temporary apartment. This was already contradicted by the lack of equivalence of the makeshift temporary apartment. This outcome also aligns with the legal principles of \u00a7\u00a7 555a(3) sentence 1, 555d(6) BGB.<\/p>\n

Based on the above considerations, the defendants were also not obligated to pay rent for the main apartment under \u00a7 535(2) BGB or any other legal grounds.<\/p>\n

Considering the previous explanations, the appeal was also unsuccessful insofar as it was directed against the dismissal of the auxiliary claim for payment of rent for the temporary apartment. There was also no express agreement on the contract details (essentialia negotii), particularly regarding the payment for use. The parties had also not reached an implied agreement. The mere occupation of the temporary apartment by the defendants, in light of the interpretive parameters of \u00a7\u00a7 133, 157 BGB, was insufficient. In any case, it would have required the equivalence of the main and temporary apartments. This was lacking for the reasons mentioned above.<\/p>\n

This made it clear that the replacement flat offered was not an equivalent alternative in the event of refurbishment. There was therefore no obligation to pay rent.<\/p>\n

Source: Berlin Regional Court<\/strong><\/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<\/a> or send us an e-mail to info@mth-partner.de<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The tenancy agreement binds the landlord to the effect that the landlord must provide the tenant with proper rented premises; if the landlord is unable to do so, the tenant does not have to pay. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[3184],"class_list":["post-5765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mietrecht-rechtsanwalt","tag-schadensersatz-bei-zerstoerter-mietwohnung"],"yoast_head":"\nMietrecht: Mieter muss weder f\u00fcr unbrauchbare Wohnung noch f\u00fcr Ersatzwohnung zahlen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ist die Wohnung zerst\u00f6rt und der Vermieter kann dem Mieter nur eine viel kleiner Ersatzwohnung anbieten, kann der Mieter g\u00e4nzlich von der Mietzahlung befreit sein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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