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Letting go of the lease: What are you actually signing?
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The first apartment of your own promises freedom and independence.
Before the corks pop at the housewarming party in the shared kitchen, however, bureaucratic minutiae and legal gibberish await.
After all, signing a lease is something different than interpreting a poem in German class.
Especially since, in the worst case, unexpected costs and annoyance can arise for tenants who do not know their rights and obligations.
SPIEGEL Start asked the tenants' association in Hamburg which pitfalls to avoid when signing the first lease.
What should be considered in the rental agreement?
Ancillary costs:
"It happens that when renting a new apartment, the rent including heating is calculated as the advance payments are underestimated," says Marielle Eifler, deputy chairwoman of the tenants' association in Hamburg.
The result is an unexpectedly high additional payment in the first year.
In Hamburg, for example, one realistically calculates ancillary costs of EUR 3.50 per square meter.
The German Tenants' Association (DMB) offers overviews of electricity costs, heating costs and operating costs for recalculation.
The
deposit
must not be higher than three monthly rents.
Theoretically, the amount can also be paid to the landlord in three monthly installments from the start of the rental period.
The landlord must invest the money separately from their own assets, for example in a savings account.
The deposit must be paid back to the tenant no later than six months after moving out.
If a guarantee is required (see below), no additional deposit payment is required.
minor repairs
are generally declared to be a tenant matter in many contracts - according to the tenants' association, however, these clauses are often ineffective.
Before you call a craftsman at your own expense, you should check the exact wording in the rental agreement and seek advice on a case-by-case basis.
Minor repairs (or "maintenance") are repairs to objects that belong to the apartment and are used frequently by the tenant, such as door handles or light switches.
The upper limit for the costs of individual small repairs is usually 100 euros.
Tenants do not have to pay a more expensive bill themselves - not even proportionately.
"The minor repairs clause in the rental agreement must also state an upper limit for all minor repairs within one year," says Marielle Eifler,
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The landlord must bear the
costs for major repairs
, provided the damage was not caused by the tenants.
Damage caused by contractual use is already covered by the rent.
But if you leave the window open during a storm and the floor is ruined, you as a tenant are liable for it yourself.
If, on the other hand, it drips through the roof through no fault of your own, the landlord has to bear the costs.
Even rented large appliances in the kitchen must be replaced by the landlord if they break down (through no fault of their own).
Landlords like to cheat here and write in the contract that the kitchen is not “part of the rented property”.
According to the tenant association, such clauses are often ineffective.
A thorough examination is worthwhile here.
Apartment size:
According to estimates by the German Tenants’ Association, the number of square meters stated in the rental agreement does not match the actual size of the apartment in about two-thirds of all apartments.
If the apartment is more than ten percent smaller than specified in the rental agreement, the tenants are entitled to rent reductions, repayments or even termination without notice.
»Furnished living space also falls under the rental price brake.«
Marielle Eifler
Rent increases:
The rent may only be increased every 12 months and within three years by a maximum of 20 percent (15 percent in tight housing markets).
In addition, the local comparable rent (results from the rent index) must not be exceeded.
An exception applies to index or graduated rental agreements, which include regular and fixed rent increases and may be higher.
"The regulations of the rental price brake, which applies in many cities, must also be observed," says Marielle Eifler.
Many leases tried to circumvent the regulations, »but furnished living space is also subject to the rental price brake, just like living space rented for a fixed period of time.«
Exclusions of termination
should be treated with caution, especially if they are to apply for several years.
Especially with young tenants, life plans change quickly.
If the landlord insists on a corresponding clause, an attempt should be made to keep it short, for example for one year.
In the case of a fixed-term
rental
contract, a fixed contract end date and move-out date are also specified.
It cannot be extended beyond this maximum period and should therefore only be signed with careful consideration.
In many cases, however, such agreements are inadmissible and have been overturned by courts.
When moving in, the
meter readings
(e.g. gas, water, electricity and heating) should be recorded immediately.
Ideally, this should be confirmed by a witness, such as the caretaker or the previous tenant.
The name and address
of the landlord must be on the rental agreement so that they can be "submitted".
Otherwise, it will be difficult to assert one's own claims in legal disputes – especially against larger companies.
If you rent from larger providers, there should therefore be a person authorized to represent you in the contract, such as the management, board members or shareholders.
What does a guarantee mean?
If the tenants do not yet have a permanent job, many landlords require a guarantee, for example from their parents.
"A guarantee is a subordinate liability," explains Eifler.
This means that the guarantor parents have to take over outstanding rent payments, for example.
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A so-called directly enforceable guarantee is often required.
"With this special form of guarantee, landlords can sue the guarantor directly without having to sue the tenant first," says Eifler.
She advises not to carelessly sign any document from the Internet, but to check the content carefully: "Particular caution is required with regard to the amount of liability." While a deposit is limited to three net cold rents, a guarantee is in some cases unlimited - including when offered voluntarily.
Eifler therefore advises to record the maximum liability amount of the guarantee.
In the case of a flat share, it should also be noted that the guarantors are liable for the entire rent, not just for the room rent.
In the worst case, your own parents could be used as guarantors if the roommate does not pay his rent.
Who signs the lease in a shared flat?
If you want to share an apartment with several people, there are several ways to set up a rental agreement.
»If all flat share members want to be registered as main tenants, then they can only act together towards the landlord«, says Marielle Eifler.
And as soon as a person wants to move out, a new contract may have to be drawn up – possibly with new conditions or a higher rent.
Therefore, it can be advantageous if only one member of the shared flat registers as the main tenant and the others as subtenants.
According to Eifler, it is then important: »It should ideally be stated in the rental agreement that the shared flat is entitled to replace members who are moving out with new subtenants.«
As the sole main tenant, however, you are liable to the landlord for liabilities arising from the rental agreement.
If you don’t sign subleases with roommates, in the worst case you have to take care of rent payments or repairs on your own.
A sublease is a legally independent rental agreement and makes the main tenant of the apartment the landlord for the subtenant.
(A PDF template can be found here at the DMB Hannover.)
Where can I find help if I signed an unfavorable lease?
»Overall, tenancy law in Germany is very social.«
Marielle Eifler
Just because you have signed a contract does not mean that you are bound by all the regulations, Marielle Eifler warns: "Hardly any area of law is as shaped by court decisions as tenancy law," says the tenancy expert.
Especially the Federal Court of Justice often decides for the tenant.
»All in all, tenancy law in Germany is very social.«
Basically, you shouldn't worry too much, says Eifler: Of course, the first rental contract is something exciting, like the first employment contract.
'But it's not a mortgage.
You can't ruin yourself because you made the wrong decision." In the case of dubious formulations or high monetary demands, it could be worth seeking legal help or advice from a protection association such as the tenants' association.
However, sometimes you have to “let go of a few feathers”, as Eifler says.
Individual points in the lease could be negotiated.
However, the housing market is tense, and there are often numerous interested parties for an apartment.
She therefore advises you to weigh up where you would make compromises for your dream apartment.