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Legal changes for tenants and landlords due to the Covid 19 pandemic since April 1, 2020

from
Stefan Ziegler
Lawyer
Specialist lawyer for tenancy and property law

Give me a call: 0261 - 404 99 24
E-Mail:

The federal legislature has passed a comprehensive package of laws that includes temporary changes to the law for tenants and landlords.

Temporary restriction on termination for landlords

Accordingly, a temporary restriction on termination for landlords in the event of tenants' rent payments being missed in the period from April 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020 is an essential part of the regulations.

It should not be possible to terminate the lease of tenants who (are unable to) pay their rent for the aforementioned period due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is the tenant's responsibility to demonstrate that their inability to pay is a consequence of the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic and can be attributed to it. It should be possible to extend the period from April 2020 to June 2020 by ordinance until September 30, 2020.

Due to the payments that a tenant does not make from April 2020 to June 2020, the legislator wants it to be possible to terminate the lease again only from July 2022. This eliminates a considerable potential source of pressure for the landlord during the period mentioned.

However, terminations for reasons other than non-payment of rent from April 2020 to June 2020 shall remain unaffected and are therefore still possible.

No payment moratorium

However, it should be noted that a moratorium on rent payments is not provided for. The tenant's obligation to pay the rent continues unchanged. This claim of the landlord is therefore still (legally) enforceable. The default interest is to be paid to the landlord.

Applies to residential and commercial leases and leases of agricultural land

The (temporary) legislative changes are also to apply to all rental relationships, in particular commercial leases and leases.

These regulations are to remain in force until June 30, 2022.

We will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

The statements represent initial information that was current for the law applicable in Germany at the time of initial publication. The legal situation may have changed since then. Furthermore, the information provided cannot replace individual advice on a specific matter. Please contact us for this purpose.