fredadi

Update: I hired a tenancy lawyer last year (Note: I don't have a legal insurance and am not part of any Mieterverein). The lawyer first went out-of-court "außergerichtlich" to demand the "Nebenkostenabrechnung" for year 2020 and a timely return of the "Kaution" money. After a week or so, the landlord settled the matter as follows: He provided the "Nebenkostenabrechnung" where he deducted around 500€ extra for year 2020 He provided an offer ("Angebot") from a construction company regarding the repair costs of the water damages. (a bill of around 1500€ which he also deducted from "Kaution"). He claimed that since I did not inform him about the damages in a timely manner and simply painted over it, I am to be held accountable for the damages He transferred the rest of the "Kaution" money after deducting the above, which was then 3000€ - 500€ - 1500€ = 1000€ I had to pay my lawyer a fee of 345€ for his out-of-court work ("außergerichtliche Tätigkeiten").   A note and a tip here: According to my lawyer, this 345€ can't be reimbursed later by my landlord even if/when we win the case, since it was for his out-of-court work. For all of you out there who do not speak perfect German, be careful before saying "Yes" to your lawyer, they're also in for the money. Had I known this before, I would have asked my lawyer to not do anything out-of-court and take the matter directly to the court so that I could reimburse all my legal costs from my landlord in case I won.   My landlord told my lawyer that the matter should be considered settled, and we mustn't contact him again. Needless to say, my lawyer filed a lawsuit for the unjustified deduction of 1500€ in the name of water damages. I then again had to pay around 300€ court fee (which I will get back if/when I win the case). An additional 250€ must be paid to my lawyer by the losing party when the case is over.   After my landlord received the letter from the court, he contacted my lawyer and asked for an out-of-court settlement ("außergerichtliche Einigung"). I asked him to pay back the water damage costs (1500€) and to bear 2/3 of the legal costs (300€+250€). So all in all I demanded roughly 1900€. He rejected the offer saying he won't bear any legal cost and that if I don't drop the lawsuit he will press additional charges for the other damages mentioned in the "Übergabeprotokoll" which according to him he ignored before. I told to ****off and let the court decide our fate.   I'll update here again once I have new information.   P.S. A little rant about my lawyer: My lawyer initially convinced me that the landlord has no case against me since the water damages are clearly not my fault and that he had many such cases in the past where he fought and won. As the time passed, I noticed that all he did so far is, forward my email to the landlord and forward his to me. When I ask him for his opinion, he would not help much by saying it's up to me to decide. What really pissed me off was when recently he said I might consider out-of-court settlement since he's not sure if we'll win the case and that the landlord might have something up his sleeves. Sometimes it feels like he not my but my landlord's lawyer. Lol.

  Hi all, Let's revive this blog post with updated info as it was last updated in 2016.   Useful links: Cost of Living Comparison Between Frankfurt and Ottawa Climate and Weather Comparison Between Frankfurt and Ottawa Crime Rate Comparison Between Frankfurt and Ottawa   I would highly appreciate if someone can shed some light on the following topics: Monthly/yearly cost of health insurance in different states + coverage Cheap and reliable mover services here in Germany (for luggage) Best way to transfer funds from your German bank accounts to Canadian bank accounts Recommended banks in Canada Buying New/Used cars in Canada Necessary To-dos as a German citizen (e.g. Informing the German embassy in Canada etc.) Special termination right ("Sonderkündigungsrecht") to quickly terminate contracts here in Germany   Thank you.

A little background: So I left this apartment in November 2020 and upon last inception ("Übergabeprotokoll") among other small things there were water stains on kitchen ceiling which my landlord said is not a problem since it's most likely caused by the apartment above.   A screenshot of a part of "Übergabeprotokoll" can be viewed below or here: https://ibb.co/wNQfH5f     A month later upon my inquiry for "Kaution" money he said that he's been waiting on some authority regarding the kitchen ceiling issue and as soon he gets an answer from them he'll let me know. Months after months passed and he slowly stopped replying to my email and/or phone calls and when called from a new number would say the same thing that there's no answer from the authorities yet so I have to wait.   After a discussion with "Wohnungsamt" I wrote him a formal letter with a date to pay back or face legal charges he replied this:   "bezugnehmend auf Ihr Schreiben vom 03.08.2021 möchte ich Ihnen mitteilen, dass ich weiterhin auf Rückmeldung zur Regulierung des Schadens an der Decke der Küche warte. Alternativ kann eine Abrechnung davor erfolgen, wenn Sie die Kosten des Neuanstrichs vorbehaltlich einer Regulierung durch die WEG übernehmen. Wenn dies Ihr Wunsch ist, kümmere ich mich gerne um eine entsprechende Beauftragung. Mit freundlichen Grüßen"   My questions are:  - I am unsure on what he's actually trying to say here in this email reply?  - What is the right course of action for me here?   Some addition info:  - No, I do not have a lawyers insurance ("Rechtsschutz")  - No, I haven't got any "Endabrechnung" yet, only the "Übergabeprotokoll"  - No, I am not a member of any Tenants' association ("Mieterverein")  - I know that my landlord is supposed to put the "Kaution" money in a separate account and also pay me the interest on top of it  - Yes, I have already asked my landlord to pay me at least some part of the "Kaution" money, which he refused     Any help would be highly appreciated. Thank you.