Missed rental costs due to unregulated discount.
January 12, 2010 | 20,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
Hello,
the following situation:
Mother passed away at the end of 2008, she lived rent-free in a locked apartment in her son's house. Only utility costs had to be paid. The movable furniture is still in the rooms of the apartment. The apartment cannot be rented out as there is no inheritance regulation in place or it is being blocked by some heirs, due to a refusal to hand over documents. A lawsuit has been filed in this regard.
1. What legal options exist to have the apartment vacated?
2. Can I as the owner (landlord) do this on my own?
3. Who will cover the costs of clearing out and storing the items if an amicable inheritance arrangement is still not reached?
4. Do all heirs enter into a non-existent lease agreement after the mother's death?
5. Is there a realistic chance of claiming damages for possible loss of rent?
I thank you in advance for a prompt response.
Dear inquirer,
Thank you for your inquiry!
I would like to address your questions as follows, taking into consideration your input and the description of the situation:
1. What legal options exist to have the apartment vacated?
This is generally only possible through an eviction process. To do this, a writ of execution must first be obtained. Typically, such a writ is issued as part of a final judgment in an eviction lawsuit.
The eviction lawsuit has a chance of success if the lease agreement has ended (for example, through termination) and the tenant(s) refuse(s) to vacate the rental property. Whether this is the case in your situation is not clear from the description of the situation.
2. Can I, as the owner (landlord), do this on my own?
If the conditions for an eviction lawsuit or forced eviction are met (see above under 1.), the landlord is entitled to file such a lawsuit.
3. Who bears the costs of the eviction and storage of belongings if no amicable settlement of the estate is reached?
If no amicable settlement of the estate has been reached and the lease agreement with the community of heirs has already ended, you as the landlord can generally have the tenants' belongings stored at their expense. However, you must first give the tenants the opportunity, with a deadline, to retrieve their belongings.
If the tenants lose the eviction process, they would of course also have to bear the costs of the forced eviction.
4. Do all heirs enter into a non-existent lease agreement after the death of the mother?
Yes, all heirs enter into the lease agreement as a community of heirs in accordance with § 1922 BGB.
5. Is there a realistic chance to claim damages for possible loss of rent?
Based on your description of the situation, I do not see any claims for damages, but there may be claims against the community of heirs for rental payments if they have not paid the rent in the past or at least not in full.
I hope I have provided you with an initial legal orientation and wish you much success and all the best!
Please note the following:
The legal information I have provided is based solely on the facts you have provided. My response is only an initial legal assessment of the situation and cannot replace a comprehensive examination of the facts. Adding or omitting relevant information can lead to a completely different legal assessment.
I hope my explanations have been helpful. You are welcome to contact me for further questions on this platform or via my email address.
I wish you a pleasant Tuesday evening!
Kind regards,
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney-at-law
Heilsbergerstr. 16
27580 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Tel. 0471/3088132
Fax: 0471/3088316
