Termination of long-term rental agreement
August 3, 2009 | 40,00 EUR | answered by Andreas Scholz
Good evening,
My husband and I signed a long-term rental agreement until 08/2013 in 1992. We are both listed as tenants.
My husband passed away on 30.10.2008. Since I am unable to afford the high rent on my own for much longer, I have terminated the rental agreement with a notice period until 30.10.2009 (three-month notice period) and invoked a special termination right (death of one of the tenants).
The landlord does not accept the termination and insists on fulfillment of the rental agreement until 2013.
Kind regards,
Birgit Brandenburg
Dear questioner,
first of all, section 580 of the German Civil Code (BGB) grants the tenant the right to terminate the lease in case of the tenant's death. This provision can generally be waived in the lease agreement and therefore excluded.
In your case, you have a fixed-term lease agreement, according to section 575 BGB. This type of lease can only be terminated for extraordinary reasons.
Generally, the death of a spouse is not a valid reason for termination under section 580 BGB. However, you have the right to terminate the lease under section 563a(2) BGB. This termination should have been declared within one month of your husband's death.
If you have followed these steps, the termination is valid and the landlord must accept it.
I hope this information has been helpful to you. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask.
Kind regards,
Andreas Scholz, Attorney
... Are you also interested in this question? 
