Can I reduce the rent if the apartment is excessively hot?

Created: 06/21/2022Updated: 06/21/2022, 17:55

By: Franziska Kaindl

In the apartment, many seek protection from the heat outside - but what if the temperatures are the highest there?

Am I entitled to a rent reduction?

Many courts disagree on the rent reduction in the event of excessive heat in the apartment.

Because there is no general legal regulation that stipulates a rent reduction by a certain percentage as soon as unbearable temperatures prevail in the apartment.

But in order for you to be able to do anything at all with your landlord, a number of criteria must be met.

Anyone who has to endure more than 26 degrees in the apartment during the day may have a chance of a rent reduction.

© dpa/Franziska Kraufmann

These rules of thumb apply to high temperatures in the home

So-called technical rules apply in workplaces, which stipulate that room temperatures

.

According to Anja Franz, spokeswoman for the Munich Tenants' Association, this limit can also be applied to rental apartments.

"Since temperatures above 26 degrees in the apartment are likely to affect the quality of living and thus be a defect, the tenant can also reduce the rent," she explains to the online portal Immowelt.

In addition, the Higher Regional Courts of Hamm and Rostock determined a few years ago that

(Az.: 30 U 131/06 and Az.: 3 U 83/98).

In order to be able to prove excessive temperatures, renters must call a witness or use a thermometer that records and stores the maximum temperatures.

These decisions were made by courts on similar cases

Whether you can bring about a rent reduction is linked to many criteria and is evaluated differently from case to case.

The district court of Hamburg decided that a temperature of 30 degrees in the apartment during the day was not reasonable for the resident and awarded the tenant a

(Az.: 46 C 108/049).

If you live in an attic apartment, however, you have a bad hand.

After all, according to the district court of Leipzig (Az.: 164 C 6049/04), tenants should be aware beforehand that

.

Therefore, temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius are acceptable.

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Excessive heat: How to deal with the landlord

Report the defect to your landlord as soon as possible and ask them to rectify the problem.

You can do this in writing by registered mail or tell the landlord personally with witnesses - so that you can later prove that you have noticed the defect.

.

If the landlord has not acted after this period, the rent may be reduced.

However, the rent reduction would 

 - and not for the entire month, as Anja Franz explains.

In addition, it is

.

Tenants could not plead for certain measures - such as appropriate insulation.

After all, awnings, blinds or air conditioning would also help.

If the tenant wants to lend a hand and provide thermal insulation,

must be obtained beforehand.

Appropriate

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