As of: March 6, 2024, 12:39 p.m
By: Michelle Brey, Alina Schröder
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A letter from a landlady causes horror.
In it she announces a rent increase and terminations.
But, is that even legal?
Syke – “Home sweet home”, as the saying goes.
But your own home can quickly become the focus of conflict.
Notices in the hallways of apartment buildings, such as clear warnings to neighbors, are particularly polarizing.
There was a recent incident involving a case of beer in a quiet residential area that resulted in a resident threatening legal action.
Now a so-called fire letter from a landlady is causing a stir on the Reddit platform.
There is even a threat of termination.
Letter from landlady to tenant: rent increase, bizarre rules and termination
The landlord is introducing new rules due to “massive circumstances”, as she explains in her letter.
The letter contains three main points.
It literally says:
“From now on, hawking in and out/constant visits from strangers must be avoided.”
“The stairwell may no longer be entered after 10 p.m. (only in emergencies such as fire or danger).”
“Smoking is now prohibited in all residential units. To do this, please leave the property!”
The landlord also announces an immediate rent increase – “by at least 110 euros” for all residents.
The reason for this is the work that the tenants would do for her.
In the event of “violations”, the landlord threatens to terminate the contract.
It is initially unclear whether the tenants found the note in the mailbox or whether it was posted in the stairwell.
Reddit user horrified by letter from landlady – “More absurd with every sentence”
The landlord's letter caused a stir on the social media platform Reddit.
Within a few days, the post had received more than 500 comments (as of February 22nd).
The surprise and horror at the letter are great.
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“Wow, this entire letter is an invitation for lots of pen pals with the respective tenants’ lawyers,” commented one user.
“It got more absurd with every sentence,” noted another.
“If I were a tenant, I would be tempted to do all of the things mentioned.
And then let’s see what a court says about such methods,” he added.
“You don’t even need a law degree to use this piece of paper profitably,” joked another.
“I'm just thinking about how to make the good woman's life as miserable as possible.” There is hardly any sympathy for the landlady.
Tenancy law speaks against the landlord - there are clear regulations for rent increases
However, the entire contents of the letter may be difficult to reconcile with tenancy law.
A rent increase during an ongoing rental agreement is set out in Sections 557ff.
regulated by the Civil Code (BGB).
Whether the rent can be increased depends on various factors.
As Tenant Protection Berlin writes, there are the following options:
An agreement to increase the rent
Specify a future change as a graduated or index rent (§§ 557 a, 557 b BGB).
The rent increase to the local comparison rent (rent index) (§ 558 BGB)
The rent increase in the event of modernization (§ 559 BGB)
The rent increase in the event of changes in operating costs (§ 560 BGB).
A smoking ban could be enforced - but not just with such a letter.
ERGO Insurance, for example, informs: “A smoking ban can be agreed upon individually when the rental agreement is concluded.
A pre-formulated clause in the rental agreement is not enough.” It is unclear whether these were just empty threats from the landlord or whether legal action was ultimately taken.
Someone here didn't express it quite as clearly as the landlady: A confusing piece of paper brings back memories of dark times during the corona pandemic.
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked.
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