Status: 20.05.2022, 14:43 PM
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The apartment as a rented investment? Caution: Some of the requirements of the condominium association can make life difficult for you. © Robert Günther/dpa-tmn/Archivbild
If you want to rent out your condominium, you have to manage the balancing act between the interests of the tenant and those of the other apartment owners. This is not always easy.
Berlin - Many apartment buyers consider their property as an investment. You don't invest for self-occupancy, but for renting.
Landlords thus find themselves caught between the rights and obligations arising from their dual function as landlords and members of the owners' association. With forward-looking planning, the different tasks can be reconciled.
Even before buying an apartment, it should be clear whether it will be rented out in the future. This influences the location and also the selection of the property itself. If you want to move in yourself, you might want to have a garden. On the other hand, those who go into renting will attach more importance to the return.
In principle, apartment owners can do whatever they want with their four walls - move in themselves, leave it empty or rent it out. Only laws and regulations of the condominium owners' association (WEG) set certain limits to the freedom to rent. For example, it is possible that condominiums exclude the rental of the residential units, the so-called special ownership.
The hurdle is comparatively high: a majority resolution of the owners' meeting is not sufficient for a general ban on renting, says Michael Nack of the Association for Residential Property. Lawyers deduce this from a ruling of the Federal Court of Justice (Az. V ZR 112/18). Instead, however, the condominium could reach a unanimous agreement to prevent the rental. That would be tantamount to a ban on renting.
Rental exclusion can turn an investment into a bad investment
Caution is therefore advised for apartment buyers who want to rent out. Because if they buy into a facility with a rental exclusion, they either look down the tube or have to fight in court about the desired rental. Both threaten to make the purchase of real estate a bad investment. Before buying, this is prevented by taking a look at the declaration of partition and the community regulations, as well as by asking the property management.
On the other hand, apartment owners may also be obliged to rent out their property by agreement. This happens, for example, in holiday residences. According to Sönke Bergemann, Managing Director of the owners' association Haus und Grund Kiel, this requirement is sometimes accompanied by the exclusion or limitation of personal use. References to this should be found in the exposé.
A number of homeowners' associations have established rules of use for both private and communal property. In addition to the house rules, this often means that the condominium or the property management company it uses must agree to a rental in advance.
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Property management company can reject potential tenants
Landlords obtain this yes as soon as they have found a tenant. With the request, they provide some information about the future tenants. In addition to the first name and surname, the total number of people who want to live there should also be mentioned.
With the help of the information about the tenant, the property management company usually checks whether it agrees to the planned rental. This test is intended to keep the peace in the house. Usually, the okay is a mere formality. "Consent may only be withheld for good cause," says Sönke Bergemann. For example, if the potential tenant has already attracted unpleasant attention in the residential complex. Indications of overcrowding can also lead to a no. The same applies to misappropriation.
If owners ignore the rejection of the community, they get themselves into trouble: The community is entitled to injunctive relief, says Bergemann. This results in the landlord's obligation to terminate the lease to undesirable tenants.
But despite careful tenant selection, disputes sometimes arise with other residents. Violations of the house rules are typical. Then the landlord must act. He owes this to the condominium and the other owners. In front of them, he is responsible for the actions of the tenants and has to make sure that they comply with the rules. "He is obliged to influence the tenant in such a way that he refrains from the improper and contract-violating use," says Bergemann.
Meticulously check the rental agreement for infringement of rights
Landlords alone decide how to do this: asking, admonishing, warning are options. These should be exhausted first. Termination is the very last resort. "There is only an entitlement to this if termination is the only conceivable way to cease and desist," says Sönke Bergemann.
In the lease agreement, special owners should only grant their tenants the rights to which they themselves are entitled as owners. This helps to avoid problems. An example is keeping several dogs. Occasionally, this is prohibited by the declaration of partition, community regulations or resolutions. If the landlord allows this anyway, he is threatened with double trouble, says Michael Nack.
On the one hand, on the part of the WEG: It would be entitled to an injunction to stop keeping dogs. And then on the part of the tenant. He could then invoke a lack of rent because the apartment is not suitable for the contractually agreed purpose, reduce the rent and finally terminate the lease extraordinarily. Dpa