Who has to pay for the fire brigade's call-out for wasp nest and beehive

Around 1,000 wasps had sought a new home in Würzburg and found it in a tenant's roller shutter box. Nearly 200 of them then buzzed and hummed merrily around his balcony, which frightened him, as he had a small child and a wife with an insect sting allergy.

Since he could not reach his landlord immediately, the tenant called the fire brigade , who removed the wasp nest and billed cost of the operation, amounting to 263.64 euros

Since the landlord refused to reimburse him for the costs, the tenant sued him and was vindicated by the Würzburg Local Court (case number 13 C 2751/13).

Reason:

The wasp nest had to be removed immediately because it posed an acute danger to the life and health of the tenant and his family. The attempt to contact the landlord by telephone – albeit unsuccessful – was deemed sufficient. Furthermore, the landlord would presumably have incurred the same costs had the tenant been able to reach him, and the amount charged by the fire department was reasonable and necessary.

A beehive in a roller shutter box or a wasp nest at the front door must generally be removed by the landlord at their own expense . These are not considered operating costs because they do not occur regularly and therefore cannot be passed on to the tenant. "Regularly" in this context does not mean annually, but rather a foreseeable cycle of several years. Bees and wasps, on the other hand, only settle once or sporadically.