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The landlord, a housing association, initially only paid back 409 euros
Photo: Bernd Wüstneck / dpa
After the death of her parents in Cologne, the daughter should now get the deposit back from the previous landlady – shares worth around 115,000 euros.
The district court of Cologne ruled in a judgment that has now been announced that the landlady cannot fobbe them off with the 800 marks once deposited as rent security.
Contrary agreements in the rental agreement are void.
(Az: 203 C 199/21)
In the case at hand, the plaintiff's parents, who have died in the meantime, had rented an apartment in 1960 from a housing company in Cologne on the right bank of the Rhine.
They paid a so-called rent guarantee of 800 marks.
According to the lease, the landlord was allowed to invest the money in shares, which he did.
After the termination, the landlord was supposed to hand over the shares, but was also entitled to "pay out the nominal amount of 800 DM" instead.
In 2005, the parents moved to another apartment owned by the housing association.
The rental security was "transferred" to a deposit of now 409 euros.
The trustee who managed the shares now also paid out the dividends – from 2005 to 2017 almost 6000 euros.
Choice clause in the rental agreement
When the lease ended in 2018, the housing association remembered the choice clause in the lease and paid back 409 euros.
In contrast, the daughter, as heir, demands that the shares be surrendered.
The market value of the security deposit was EUR 115,000 when the lawsuit was filed in December 2021.
The court found that the housing association's right to choose provided for in the old rental agreement was invalid.
Paragraph 551 of the German Civil Code stipulates that the tenant is entitled to income from the rent deposit, regardless of the form of investment chosen.
The income from the form of investment selected here includes not only paid dividends, but also any price gains.
Agreements deviating from this are ineffective.
The verdict is not yet legally binding.
The housing association can appeal to the district court.
The court did not say which company it was.
sol/dpa/AFP
