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Defects in the apartment and rent reduction
According to the law, the landlord must remedy or repair defects or faults in the rented property. If he fails to do so, the tenant may be able to have the defect rectified himself at the landlord's expense, he may have claims for damages or a right to withhold rent. In the case of the “most serious” defects, the tenant can even terminate the lease without notice. However, the most important tenant right in the event of housing defects is rent reduction. The tenant can reduce the rent, i.e. he has the right to pay less rent, as long as there are defects in the apartment.
According to the law, it does not matter whether the landlord is responsible for the defect or not. Even defects caused by third parties over which the landlord has no influence and defects that the landlord may not be able to remedy entitle the tenant to a reduction, such as noise from a restaurant or discotheque or disturbances caused by a neighboring construction site. The only decisive factor is that there is a defect that reduces the residential value of the apartment. The landlord must also repair damage caused by an attempted break-in. The same applies to a door lock that has been deliberately stuck with glue. The landlord must repair the door or lock and pay the repair costs. You can also find out about the fundamental rulings of the Federal Court of Justice on housing defects.
100 percent rent is only available for 100 percent residential value, as agreed when the tenancy agreement was concluded. If the residential value falls, the rent must also fall.
A rent reduction is of course excluded if the tenant has caused or is responsible for the defect, in the case of completely insignificant impairments or if the tenant was already aware of the defect when moving into the apartment or could have easily recognized it. If you rent a cheap apartment in an old building with rotten and blind windows, you cannot reduce the rent a few months later. The assumption here is that the tenant and landlord agreed a lower rent when the contract was concluded precisely because of these defects.
Another example: Graffiti
Graffiti smearings are defects in the rented property. The tenant is entitled to have the landlord remove graffiti in the entrance area of the house, on the front door and on the doorbell and to have the areas repaired. This applies at least if the entrance area of the house was in a visually perfect condition at the time of renting and not every other house in the residential area is covered in graffiti.
If the landlord has graffiti removed from the wall or garage of the rented property, he cannot include the costs for this in the operating costs bill. The removal of graffiti is maintenance. The landlord is obliged to do this. The costs incurred are not house cleaning costs and do not belong in the statement of operating costs.
Beware of rent increases
However, after a rent increase, for example to the local comparative rent, the cards are completely reshuffled. If the landlord no longer adheres to the agreement “low rent for low quality of living”, the tenant can reduce the rent due to old defects. However, the amount of the reduction may not be higher than the rent increase.
Minor repairs
As explained in detail above, the landlord is responsible for major and minor repairs in the house and apartment. However, it can be agreed in the tenancy agreement that the tenant must pay for the repair of minor damage themselves. Such minor repairs may not cost more than 90 to 100 euros. The repair itself must relate to parts of the rented property that are subject to direct and frequent access by the tenant. This includes, for example, a dripping tap or damage to shower heads, etc.
In addition, the small repairs clause must specify an upper limit for all small repairs within a year, for example 8% of the annual rent. In its ruling C 1438/13, the Stuttgart-Bad Canstadt Local Court even speaks of a limit of 6% of the annual gross rent for all minor repairs. Furthermore, the tenant does not have to hire the tradesmen himself, he only has to pay. Further information can be found in the brochure “Wohnungsmängel und Mietminderung” from the German Tenants' Association.
Emergency repairs
Treten Mängel oder Schäden in der Wohnung bzw. am Haus auf, muss der Vermieter schnellstmöglich informiert werden. Der muss sich dann um die Schadensbeseitigung kümmern. Dieses übliche Verfahren dauert in Notfällen aber viel zu lange. Sind Vermieter, Hausmeister oder Hausverwaltung telefonisch nicht erreichbar, zum Beispiel am Wochenende, kann der Mieter die Reparatur sofort selbst in Auftrag geben. Der Vermieter muss die notwendigen Kosten ersetzen.
Mittlere Nutzungsdauer von Parkett und Laminat
If defects or damage occur in the apartment or house, the landlord must be informed as soon as possible. The landlord must then take care of repairing the damage. However, this usual procedure takes far too long in emergencies. If the landlord, janitor or property manager cannot be reached by telephone, for example at the weekend, the tenant can order the repairs themselves immediately. The landlord must reimburse the necessary costs.
Partition wall to neighboring apartment
If the outer walls of an apartment are not made of continuous brickwork, but the partition wall to the neighboring apartment is made of a thin chipboard/wood panel, this is a defect in the rented property. The landlord must rectify the defect. It does not matter when the building or the partition wall was erected. The decisive factor is that at the time the building was erected, brick exterior walls were the usual minimum condition. The tenant is not obliged to inspect the rental property accordingly when concluding the rental agreement (LG Berlin 67S 490/11).
Hot and cold water
The landlord must keep the tenant's central hot water supply in operation 24 hours a day, all year round. One of his obligations is to provide sufficient hot water with a minimum temperature of 40 to 50 degrees Celsius around the clock. Water temperatures of less than 40 degrees Celsius are a housing deficiency. The tenant is entitled to a remedy and as long as the water is not warm, he can reduce the rent. However, courts consider it reasonable for the tenant to allow the water to run for a short time before hot water comes out of the pipe.
An interruption of the cold water supply to the apartment caused by the landlord – whether justified or unjustified – entitles the tenant to a rent reduction of 50% (LG Frankfurt/Oder 15 S 112/17).