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Renovation upon moving out

Dear Sir or Madam,

We will soon be moving to a new apartment and are not sure if we are obligated to hand over the apartment renovated (painted white) according to the new rental law. We took over the apartment freshly renovated 2 years ago. In our rental agreement (lease agreement for apartments), the point "beauty repairs" has been crossed out and it has been added by hand "The obligated party must carry out the beauty repairs upon move-out according to the handover protocol".

Thank you for your response.

Dr. Lars Nozar

Hello, as you can see, it depends on the rental agreement. The key question is whether the apartment is "worn out" or if the wallpaper has suffered under its occupancy. Only in this case - if the wear and tear is visible - you must paint.

The Federal Court of Justice has made it clear in several judgments that a rigid renovation clause in the rental agreement is ineffective insofar as it imposes a renovation obligation on the tenant regardless of the condition of the living spaces.

The Federal Court of Justice (BGH Ref: VIII ZR 335/02 of August 21, 2003) protects the tenant from excessive demands by landlords upon moving out. The BGH has deemed it inadmissible if a tenant is burdened with an excess of renovation obligations through multiple clauses in the rental agreement, leading to the tenant being unreasonably disadvantaged.

The BGH (File number VIII ZR 361/03 of July 30, 2004) has ruled that tenants only have to renovate apartments if it is actually necessary. Rental agreement clauses that set fixed dates for cosmetic repairs are ineffective. Even a so-called isolated final renovation clause in the rental agreement is ineffective.

I hope I have helped and wish you a pleasant evening. Dr. Nozar

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Dr. Lars Nozar