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Landlord wants to sell the property you rent
Info and advice on your legal rights as a tenant
Hi can anyone advise ? Unfortunately my landlord has decided that he can no-longer live next door to me so he has decided to sell the house that I rent from him. My house is the other semi to his house. Tomorrow we can look forward to my landlord showing people around the house after an extended period where he has not talked to us or even acknowledged us outside the house ! Things are that bad ! Does anyone know what my rights are regarding viewings and I guess the inevitable, when he sells the house ? I have no real desire to move right now nor does my wife or my 3 children !!! We have an appointment with the DMV but that's not until next week. Any comments greatly appreciated.
Check out the contract. There should always be a clause in it regarding a possible sale and how much notice he can give. At the very least he has to give you 3 months written notice that he wants you out
QUOTE (Frustrated of Giessen @ Nov 15 2006, 6:44 pm) 
Does anyone know what my rights are regarding viewings
AFAIK you can't object if you've been informed of it in advance and the viewing times are reasonable
(i.e. not at 6am or 10pm, for example).
Relevant laws in german and paraphrased in english, courtesy of Xpet:
QUOTE (Xpet @ Aug 12 2005, 6:55 am)
The German Tenant's Organization (Deutscher Mieter Bund) has a site where you can read up on tenant's right & responsibilities.
Regarding the right to inspect/enter the rented premises ("Besichtigungsrecht"), they write:
Der Vermieter darf die Wohnung des Mieters nur besichtigen, wenn es hierfür einen konkreten Grund gibt. Ein generelles Besichtigungsrecht für Vermieter existiert nicht. Der darf nach Angaben des Deutschen Mieterbundes (DMB) die Wohnung des Mieters ohne dessen Einverständnis nicht betreten, und er hat auch keinen Anspruch auf einen Zweitschlüssel für die Mieterwohnung.
Ein allgemeine Überprüfung der Wohnung in Hinblick darauf, ob Instandhaltungsmaßnahmen erforderlich sind, ist allenfalls im Abstand von 2 Jahren zulässig (AG Münster 28 C 6492/99, AG Köln 219 C 430/98).
Nach Angaben des Mieterbundes kann der Vermieter außerdem Zutritt zur Mieterwohnung verlangen, wenn notwendige Reparaturen durchgeführt werden müssen, wenn der Mieter Mängelbeseitigung fordert, wenn Messeinrichtungen wie zum Beispiel Heizkostenverteiler abgelesen werden müssen oder wenn der Vermieter das Haus bzw. die Wohnung mit Kaufinteressenten oder Mietinteressenten besichtigen will.
Bei der Vereinbarung derartiger Besichtigungstermine muss grundsätzlich auf die Berufstätigkeit des Mieters Rücksicht genommen werden. Der Besichtigungstermin darf nur zu den üblichen Zeiten angesetzt werden, es reicht aus, wenn sich der Mieter einmal in der Woche Zeit für einen Besichtigungstermin nimmt.
To paraphrase, and reduced to the current discussion, the land lord's right to enter the rented premises is restricted to regular inspection visits every 2 years, and/or when and if there are the following incidents/circumstances:
- repairs
- upon invitation by the tenant, e.g. to inspect defects
- meter readings
- showings for prospective tenant/owners
They elaborate re. the last point as follows: showings need to be pre-arranged with the tenant and have to consider the availability of the tenant with respect to working hours etc.. Showings may only be arranged at "usual times" and it is seen as suffucient for the tenant to make her/himself available once per week.
Unfortunately the law provides no clearer definition regarding the time-period that is seen as sufficient, but I believe the courts have accepted periods of between 3 and 6 hours for this purpose, no more frequent than once/week as said above.
As far as I know, there have been court decisions invalidating contract clauses that stipulate a landlord's right to inspect the rented premises at will and un-announced, so if you have something like that in your rental agreement it's likely null & void. Also, Art. 13 GG states that your home is "inviolable" under the protection of the German Constitution ... [img]http://www.forumosa.com/taiwan/images/smiles/Beatnik.gif[/img]
Hope this help, Xpet.
Regarding the right to inspect/enter the rented premises ("Besichtigungsrecht"), they write:
Der Vermieter darf die Wohnung des Mieters nur besichtigen, wenn es hierfür einen konkreten Grund gibt. Ein generelles Besichtigungsrecht für Vermieter existiert nicht. Der darf nach Angaben des Deutschen Mieterbundes (DMB) die Wohnung des Mieters ohne dessen Einverständnis nicht betreten, und er hat auch keinen Anspruch auf einen Zweitschlüssel für die Mieterwohnung.
Ein allgemeine Überprüfung der Wohnung in Hinblick darauf, ob Instandhaltungsmaßnahmen erforderlich sind, ist allenfalls im Abstand von 2 Jahren zulässig (AG Münster 28 C 6492/99, AG Köln 219 C 430/98).
Nach Angaben des Mieterbundes kann der Vermieter außerdem Zutritt zur Mieterwohnung verlangen, wenn notwendige Reparaturen durchgeführt werden müssen, wenn der Mieter Mängelbeseitigung fordert, wenn Messeinrichtungen wie zum Beispiel Heizkostenverteiler abgelesen werden müssen oder wenn der Vermieter das Haus bzw. die Wohnung mit Kaufinteressenten oder Mietinteressenten besichtigen will.
Bei der Vereinbarung derartiger Besichtigungstermine muss grundsätzlich auf die Berufstätigkeit des Mieters Rücksicht genommen werden. Der Besichtigungstermin darf nur zu den üblichen Zeiten angesetzt werden, es reicht aus, wenn sich der Mieter einmal in der Woche Zeit für einen Besichtigungstermin nimmt.
To paraphrase, and reduced to the current discussion, the land lord's right to enter the rented premises is restricted to regular inspection visits every 2 years, and/or when and if there are the following incidents/circumstances:
- repairs
- upon invitation by the tenant, e.g. to inspect defects
- meter readings
- showings for prospective tenant/owners
They elaborate re. the last point as follows: showings need to be pre-arranged with the tenant and have to consider the availability of the tenant with respect to working hours etc.. Showings may only be arranged at "usual times" and it is seen as suffucient for the tenant to make her/himself available once per week.
Unfortunately the law provides no clearer definition regarding the time-period that is seen as sufficient, but I believe the courts have accepted periods of between 3 and 6 hours for this purpose, no more frequent than once/week as said above.
As far as I know, there have been court decisions invalidating contract clauses that stipulate a landlord's right to inspect the rented premises at will and un-announced, so if you have something like that in your rental agreement it's likely null & void. Also, Art. 13 GG states that your home is "inviolable" under the protection of the German Constitution ... [img]http://www.forumosa.com/taiwan/images/smiles/Beatnik.gif[/img]
Hope this help, Xpet.
And he can't kick you out.. The new owner must either "Buy you out" to leave, or accept that the other half of the house is rented out. Contact the Mieterverine ASAP
Yes he can if there is a clause in the rental agreement stating that. An ex- of mine lived in an apartment and had that very clause in it.
it depends on how long you have lived there. at work someone has been renting a house for 20years and the landlord wants to sell. the landlord has to pay the move, pay out any investment into the flat (ie new kitchen etc)...
Etc. Etc. Etc. YAYAYAYAYAY This is why you goto the Mieterverine
with your rental contract and get the correct, accurate, legal info
you need and not to Toytown...
Contact details:
Mieterverein München e. V.
Sonnenstr. 10, 80331 München (am Stachus)
Tel. 089/552143-0, Fax: 089/554 554
hausmeister@mieterverein-muenchen.de
with your rental contract and get the correct, accurate, legal info
you need and not to Toytown...
Contact details:
Mieterverein München e. V.
Sonnenstr. 10, 80331 München (am Stachus)
Tel. 089/552143-0, Fax: 089/554 554
hausmeister@mieterverein-muenchen.de
yes, yes, yes, contact the Mietverein, but i know this information from personal experience:
You have a right to stay in your house for the contracted rental agreement time, unless of course you stop paying rent (for example) at wihch time the landlord can evict you. Exception is, unless he needs the place for his own use, then he can kick you out with the legal notice period of 3 months. So just because he cannot live where he lives anymore, does not mean he can just up and sell the house. You have the right to stay in your house for as long as your contract states.
There was a court case (I saw on Wiso -- ARD program) about a man who owned a fancy house & rented it, then lost his coompany and went bankrupt or something like that, so he wanted to sell the house he rented to someone so he could have some cash. Unfortunately, those people had a long-term rental contract and had just moved in. They were allowed to stay.
My ex just bought an apartment in his block. That tennant has a 5-year rental contract. If my ex then decides that he needs that apartment because he gets married and needs kids, then he has to notify that person 3 months in advance. Basta. Of course it's an old man and he would feel guilty, but c'est la vie.
You have a right to stay in your house for the contracted rental agreement time, unless of course you stop paying rent (for example) at wihch time the landlord can evict you. Exception is, unless he needs the place for his own use, then he can kick you out with the legal notice period of 3 months. So just because he cannot live where he lives anymore, does not mean he can just up and sell the house. You have the right to stay in your house for as long as your contract states.
There was a court case (I saw on Wiso -- ARD program) about a man who owned a fancy house & rented it, then lost his coompany and went bankrupt or something like that, so he wanted to sell the house he rented to someone so he could have some cash. Unfortunately, those people had a long-term rental contract and had just moved in. They were allowed to stay.
My ex just bought an apartment in his block. That tennant has a 5-year rental contract. If my ex then decides that he needs that apartment because he gets married and needs kids, then he has to notify that person 3 months in advance. Basta. Of course it's an old man and he would feel guilty, but c'est la vie.
The same thing is happening to me aswell, but our landlord is a very nice man. He specifically informed me that the law states that the buyer of the apartment must be willing to continue the rental contract under the same conditions. So, read your contract. It should all be there in black and white.
It could be that the buyer wants to use your apartment for his/her own purposes. To do this, the buyer will have to comply with the contract and give you a sufficient period of notice (should also be outlined in your contract.)
It could be that the buyer wants to use your apartment for his/her own purposes. To do this, the buyer will have to comply with the contract and give you a sufficient period of notice (should also be outlined in your contract.)
Basically, a buyer enters into the contract with all assets and obligations (Rechte und Pflichten) so there shouldn't be any changes to the lease at all.
Hi, Thanks for all the comments/suggestions. We have had the viewing now, during which the prospective owners asked the landlord if we were wanting to move on now. The landlords reply was "They must"! We didn't respond. We shall see what the DMB say next week. Our contract does not mention sale of the property at all and was an open ended contract, no fixed term mentioned, only that the rent could not be increased for 5 years. Will update next week!!!
Good luck!
Had a guy at work who went through this.The new buyer will cancel he contract on ' Eigen Bedarf'.Which basically means that they need it themselves.
However the guy at work got informed and as it turned out he was allowed to stay there for 1 year.
Definately go to the Mietverein because if ou are interested because if i remember rightly if you are a tenant there is some law over heregiving you the right to have first choice at buying.
Not 100% sure of this but get informed for definate.
As to the rent increase you did well there as i know hat the law states the rent cannot be increased no more than 20% in a 3 year period, and be no more than 10% over the local mietspiegel, local average rent
However the guy at work got informed and as it turned out he was allowed to stay there for 1 year.
Definately go to the Mietverein because if ou are interested because if i remember rightly if you are a tenant there is some law over heregiving you the right to have first choice at buying.
Not 100% sure of this but get informed for definate.
As to the rent increase you did well there as i know hat the law states the rent cannot be increased no more than 20% in a 3 year period, and be no more than 10% over the local mietspiegel, local average rent
I hope that you are members of the Mietverein. Everyone keeps recommending them, and I do too, but they will be much more helpful if you are actually members.
QUOTE (Frustrated of Giessen @ Nov 16 2006, 8:18 pm)
We have had the viewing now, during which the prospective owners asked the landlord if we were wanting to move on now. The landlords reply was "They must"!
it's obvious your landlord has no clue or he is trying to take advantage. as written before, you can live there for as long as your lease states, unless he wants to move in himself.
@ showem: he wrote they had a meeting with the DMB next week. i assumed that is the Deutscher Mieterbund
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