New Federal Court of Justice ruling on deviations in living space

This ruling by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) was eagerly awaited by both tenants and landlords. Yesterday (November 18, 2015), the judges decided whether a tenant must pay more rent if the apartment is larger than stipulated in the contract, thereby overturning the 10% tolerance limit. However, the cap on rent increases now applies

In the present dispute, a Berlin landlord sought to increase the base rent from approximately €629.75 by €308. She justified this, among other things, by claiming that the rented five-room apartment more than 50 square meters larger than stated in the lease. While the lease specified a living area of ​​156.95 square meters, the apartment was actually 210.43 square meters.

The tenant disagreed with the drastic rent increase. He was only willing to accept an increase of approximately €94.46. The landlord's lawsuit seeking approval for the remaining rent increase had been unsuccessful in the lower courts. Now she intended to enforce the rent increase by appealing to the Federal Court of Justice (BGH).

Important:

In its recent ruling, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) decided that rents cannot simply be increased abruptly. This principle applies even if the apartment is much larger than described in the contract. While the actual size of an apartment is decisive for rent increases, according to the BGH ruling, if it deviates from the area stated in the contract, the rent may only increase by a maximum of 20% at a time, and in certain cities like Berlin, even by only 15%.

The ruling also has fundamental implications for rent payments. Previously , both parties had to tolerate a deviation of up to 10% . Tenants could only reduce the rent or challenge unjustified increases if the apartment was more than 10% smaller than stated in the lease. Landlords, in turn, could only demand more if the apartment was at least 10% larger. In the future, however, only the actual living space will count for rent increases – regardless of what the lease states. Therefore, if the apartment is 5% smaller, a rent increase may only apply to this smaller area. If the apartment is 5% larger than stated, the landlord may increase the rent accordingly.

You can find out how we protect you from such costly mistakes here and in a personal consultation.

Source: Federal Court of Justice (BGH), Case No.: VIII ZR 266/14 and www.immocompact.de