There is hardly a tenant who does not have to deal with housing deficiencies at some point in time. Whether it's a broken stove, a malfunctioning heating system or mold – you want the damage to be repaired quickly and permanently. You can contribute to this yourself. If you simply ask the janitor in the hallway about the leaking windows, you shouldn't be surprised if nothing happens. And anyone who reduces the rent by 30 percent on his or her own initiative because of a crack in the laminate may even risk termination. We tell you what you have to pay attention to so that your notice of defects is successful and you can enforce your right to a defect-free apartment.<\/p>\n
There are said to be landlords who, after receiving a call, send a craftsman the next day to repair the defect. It is much more common for tenants to wait months in vain for a defect to be remedied. "… I have already called the property management company a few times about this!", the legal advisors of the citizen of Berlin tenant association (BMV) often get to hear. An argument that drives lawyers to despair, because a notice of defect by telephone is nothing more than a gamble: maybe it will do some good, maybe not. Further claims, such as the right to terminate without notice in the case of extreme defects or claims for damages, for example for radiator costs in the case of a failed heating system, cannot be derived from this.<\/p>\n
"The most important thing is to report the defect in writing and to set the landlord a specific deadline to remedy it," explains Volker Hegemann, head of the legal department of BMV. Many tenants write "immediately" or "as soon as possible" in the notice of defects, but this does not put the landlord in default (see our sample letter on this page). The time limit must be reasonable: In the case of a burst pipe, the landlord must act immediately; in the case of leaking windows, he may be granted a period of two weeks. Because landlords not infrequently claim never to have received the tenant's letter, the notice of defects should either be sent by registered mail with return receipt or dropped by messenger into the property management's mailbox. Another option is to hand in the letter yourself and ask for confirmation of receipt. There are cases in which tenants with their rent reduction claims lost in court, only because the delivery of the letter could not be proven. Fax or E-Mail are valid by the way still not as gerichtsfester proof of the Zustellung.<\/p>\n
Sample letter:
\nHow to report a housing defect to your landlord<\/p>\n
Tenants are even obliged to report housing defects. Conversely, the landlord is obliged to keep the apartment in a proper and defect-free condition. Typical defects are leaky windows, moisture damage, clogged drains, defective heating and so on. But outside disturbances can also be apartment defects, for example, odor nuisance from a butcher's shop or noise from a neighboring large construction site. It does not matter for the rent reduction if the landlord can fix the problem. However, there is no defect if the tenant himself has caused the damage.<\/p>\n
The correct notice of defect has been sent, but after the deadline has expired, still no workman has shown up? As a tenant, you now have several options. If the damage is only minor, such as a broken tile or defective fixtures, the matter is relatively simple. Here it offers itself to give the repair in order and to set off the costs against the rent. It is important to note that the landlord only has to reimburse the "necessary expenses". So you can't just order a new water heater when the old one could still be repaired. But beware, the following also applies to the so-called right of self-remedy: If you cannot prove that you have asked the landlord to remedy the defect by setting a deadline, you will be stuck with the costs! The only exception: If there is imminent danger and the landlord is not available, for example in the case of a burst pipe at the weekend, you can immediately call a craftsman.<\/p>\n
The second option is to file a lawsuit for repair. "In the case of obvious defects such as broken windows or a defective heating system, you have good chances in court," explains lawyer Beate Almenrader. One drawback is that legal action takes a long time, but "many landlords do nothing for ages and no sooner is the complaint filed than they do something," according to the lawyer's experience.<\/p>\n
Petra Schramm* is now also considering this step. For almost a year, she has been arguing with her landlord about the mold infestation in her bathroom. As usual in such cases, the property management claims that the tenant herself is to blame because she does not heat and ventilate properly and also dries laundry in the bathroom. On the advice of legal advisor Volker Hegemann, Petra Schramm had an expert opinion drawn up at her own expense. Result: The mold is clearly not due to the tenant's misconduct, but to structural defects. But the landlord was not very impressed by the expert opinion and only announced to send a painter. "I don't understand what this is all about, first of all the cause has to be eliminated," Petra Schramm is annoyed. "The tenant has the right to have defects properly remedied," explains Hegemann. The landlord's argument that thermal insulation is planned "at some point" anyway does not count either. After all, mold is a health hazard.<\/p>\n
A third means of exerting pressure to get the landlord to remedy the defect is the so-called right of retention. In the case of serious defects, the tenant is entitled to withhold part of the rent until the defect has been remedied. In contrast to rent reduction, this sum is much higher (about three to five times the amount of the reduction) and must be paid back to the landlord after the defects have been remedied. However, without consulting the tenants' association or the lawyer, one should never resort to this remedy.<\/p>\n
That applies also to the rent reduction so popular with tenants – in principle a good possibility, in order to make the landlord legs ". But straight here most errors happen, how BMV legal advisor Klaus Kiessling from its practice knows. Many act according to the motto: "I simply reduce the rent, then the landlord will already come into the gears."Unfortunately, many landlords don't give a damn, either because they don't care about the few euros or because they don't think they are responsible for the problem. "Some tenants are also much too hesitant and wait too long," said Kiessling. However, anyone who pays the full rent for more than six months without complaint generally forfeits his or her right to a rent reduction. Other tenants, on the other hand, set completely exaggerated reduction rates that have little chance of success in court. To the sorrow of the citizens of Berlin tenant association they orient themselves thereby often at dubious tables from the Internet, instead of visiting an advisory board. Many half-truths are also spread in the tabloid press. Fact is: There are no generally valid rent reduction quotas. If the district court of Oberammergau considers a 20 percent reduction for dog excrement in the stairwell to be permissible, this may be of no significance for the Berlin Regional Court. "Some tenants also think they can simply add up several individual defects – but the court will always take an overall view," says lawyer Stefan Schetschorke. His client, for example, had reduced the rent by 40 percent because of a number of minor defects. The court considered three percent to be appropriate – and even upheld the landlord's action for eviction in the first instance. The individual deficiencies – crack in the laminate, not closing conclusion, missing cellar window and so on – are so insignificant that the decrease sentence is completely absurd, so the court.<\/p>\n
Basically, you don't have to be afraid of losing your apartment because of a rent reduction. If the apartment is not in proper condition, one has a right not to pay the full rent. The right to reduce rent does not have to be "requested" from the landlord – every tenant is entitled to it. However, in the case of a completely absurd rate of reduction, termination may well be threatened. A tip: If you don't have time to go to legal counsel for every notice of defect, you can simply reserve the right to reduce the rent in the notice of defect without specifying a concrete percentage figure. It can also be useful to declare the exercise of the right of retention as a purely precautionary measure. The advantage: If an exaggerated reduction rate is then established in court, the difference can be declared to be retained within the meaning of the law and thus the termination can be warded off.<\/p>\n
"What's the point of paying less rent – I want the deficiencies to be fixed!", says Ruth Schmidt*. The tenant lives in an unrenovated old building that is "gradually going down the drain," as she says. Almost all tenants have moved out by now, the vacant apartments are used for anything but housing. The landlord makes no effort to repair the dilapidated sewage pipes or the tenant's rotten windows. Reason: There is currently no money available, and the windows are to be replaced anyway during renovation. "Our member does not have to be put off by this", clarifies BMV legal advisor Sabine Mettin. Set a final deadline for the landlord to take action. Otherwise, the landlord sues for the removal of defects. "I have legal protection insurance through the Berlin Tenants' Association and am relaxed about a legal dispute," Ms. Schmidt let her landlord know.<\/p>\n
Many landlords wait until the rent reduction has resulted in a rent arrears of two months' rent and then terminate without notice. This is no reason to panic, even if many tenants are completely outraged about it – after all, they are not rent debtors, but have merely made use of their right to reduce the rent. "The safest way in this case is to pay the rent arrears with reservations and then sue the landlord for the amount," advises attorney Wolfgang Hak. The termination without notice is then invalid and the courts then only decide whether the rent reduction was justified or not. The only catch is that you can only get rid of a termination without notice once within two years.<\/p>\n
Many tenants do not realize that they may have to prove years later that the conditions for a rent reduction existed. The defects must be described in detail, it is not enough, for example, to talk about an "extremely long lead time for hot water" or a "large mold stain". If it takes forever until hot water comes, you have to take a bucket and measure how much water runs off until it gets hot.<\/p>\n
"The requirements for the presentation of defects are becoming increasingly stringent," says Wolfgang Hak. "Many tenants have no idea how difficult it often is to provide evidence," attorney Imke Oevermann also knows. This is particularly complicated in the case of noise, as one of her clients had to experience. She had reduced the rent because of bar noise – but lost in court. "The other residents of the house did not want to testify as witnesses, so the tenant could not prove the noise pollution," explains Oevermann. The noise log, which the tenant had meticulously kept, was not enough. "I can only advise tenants to collect as much evidence as possible, i.e. take photos, call in witnesses, document the damage in writing, keep logs and so on," the lawyer said. The judge must be able to imagine the defect, even if this rarely takes on such bizarre forms as in a case brought by the lawyer Stefan Schetschorke. In a court case because of disturbing heating noises the judge had criticized, the cracking noises should have been described more intensively. He wished for comparisons such as "It sounds like the babbling of a brook" or "like birds chirping".<\/p>\n
If it goes around rent reduction because of building noise, for instance with a modernization, the courts require a detailed building diary. In it, the tenants must record all the activities of the construction workers associated with noise. If longer construction work is pending in the house, one should therefore try to agree with the landlord on a lump-sum rent reduction, advises Imke Oevermann: "Even if this may be somewhat lower, one often fares better with it, because one saves oneself the annoying keeping of the construction diary."<\/p>\n
Many landlords are under the impression that construction noise is a "general risk of life" in a big city like Berlin and therefore does not entitle them to reduce the rent. The fact is: According to a ruling by the Berlin Regional Court, the rent cannot be reduced if the construction site was foreseeable when the tenant moved in. If you move into a redevelopment area, for example, you have to expect noise and dirt. The situation is different in the case of the "Wilmersdorfer Arkaden", where demolition excavators and jackhammers have been plaguing residents for over a year now. Also here the landlord side argued that in Berlin now times at all corners and ends one builds. "The Charlottenburg District Court clearly stated that the residents did not have to expect such a large construction project when they moved in," reports attorney Wolfgang Hak. The judge even let it be known that a much higher rent reduction than 20 percent would have been possible.<\/p>\n
Conclusion: Tenants have a whole range of options at their disposal to force a defaulting landlord to remedy defects. Which step is the right one should always be discussed in a legal consultation.<\/p>\n
In addition to advice from the Berlin Tenants' Association, it may make sense to consult one of the offices listed here<\/p>\n
Building and housing inspectorate<\/p>\n
In case of serious deficiencies, you can call in the district building inspectorate. This applies especially to damp walls, mold, heating failure in winter, leaking roof, balconies that are in danger of falling, and so on. The authority usually makes an on-site appointment and then writes to the landlord. Theoretically, it can impose a fine on an inactive landlord or carry out a substitute performance, i.e. repair the roof at its own expense, for example, and claim the landlord for this. In practice, both are very rare. Chronically understaffed housing authorities usually trust landlord's promises. But there are differences between the boroughs – and it can't hurt anyway. Some landlords are impressed when a government agency shows up on their doorstep. Tip: join forces with other building residents and inform the housing inspector together.
\nAddresses can be found in the yellow pages under "Bauamter".<\/p>\n
Health Department<\/p>\n
If there is a threat to health, for example from pollutants such as asbestos or from vermin, you can contact the health department of your district of residence. This also includes mold – however, the Berlin health authorities do not carry out fungal spore measurements or issue medical certificates on possible health risks. The most important task is to give advice and to refer people to other specialists (for example, environmental physicians, testing laboratories and so on).
\nAddresses: see Yellow Pages "Health Offices.<\/p>\n
Environmental office<\/p>\n
In the case of odor and noise pollution caused by commercial operations and technical equipment, for example bakeries, air-conditioning systems, carpentry stores, etc., the authorities will take measurements to check whether the noise protection regulations are being complied with.<\/p>\n
Ordnungsamt<\/p>\n
Competent for house and neighborhood noise. So instead of calling the police, you can also call the public order office if the neighbors are partying too loudly or if there is no end to the street party.<\/p>\n
Expert<\/p>\n
In the case of serious defects, an expert opinion can be obtained. This makes sense especially in the case of residential toxins such as asbestos or formaldehyde or in the case of controversial issues such as the occurrence of mold. The tenant has to pay the costs for the expert opinion himself, but under certain conditions you can claim the money back from the landlord. Important: In court, this is only considered a "party opinion"; as a rule, another expert opinion is obtained. But the surveyor can testify in court as a witness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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