Coalition agreements in Germany are often like good wines. The legislative plans they contain must first mature. Not so with the promised construction turbo – according to the coalition agreement, this should come within 100 days (we reported, https://tyskret.com/language/en/construction-site-germany-the-coalition-agreement/) and this is possible. The first draft bill is now available.

What does the draft bill say?

Essentially the following with regards to residential construction:

• Exemptions from development plans

Exemptions from (existing) development plans are to be made possible to a much greater extent in favor of residential construction.

• Unplanned inner area

In the so-called unplanned inner area (i.e. wherever there is no development plan in the development context), deviations from blending into the immediate surroundings are permitted in favor of residential construction.

• Turbo general clause

However, the heart of the reform is to be the construction turbo paragraph § 246e BauGB, which is already familiar from the last legislative period. A provision that basically defines the maximum legally permissible flexibility for residential construction. Anyone who wants to build at least six new apartments, extend their existing building for residential use (addition of storeys or inner courtyard development) or plan changes of use to residential use should no longer have to fear the existing planning law. Here, deviations from all provisions of the Building Code and the regulations issued on this basis are permitted under a few conditions. The provision is to be enacted for the first time by the end of 2030.

• Not without my municipality

Although the aforementioned deviation and exemption options go very far, the municipalities must be involved in almost all decisions in favor of residential construction due to the local authority’s design sovereignty.

• Continued regulatory measures

For existing buildings, the ban on conversion to residential property will be extended by 5 years, also until the end of 2030. The same applies to the power to issue ordinances to define areas with tight housing markets (here the extension is even to apply until the end of 2031).

What happens now?

Unfortunately, a draft bill is not (yet) a law. This is typically the hour of the lobbyist, as one person may not like the simplifications and regulation, while the other may have the exact opposite opinion. However, as there were already similar proposals in the last legislature, things are unlikely to be as bad this time. The bill therefore has a good chance of passing through the Bundestag in the foreseeable future. However, it is doubtful whether we will soon be able to choose housing in urban centers at reasonable prices. There are still enough hurdles for housing construction.

We will keep you up to date on the progress of the process.

Der Beitrag DER BAUTURBO erschien zuerst auf TYSKRET.

Following the European Court of Justice, the Federal Court of Justice has now also ruled. For the time being, it’s the end of the fun for the so-called Kundenanlage (customer system) and thus for many tenant electricity models and combined heat and power plants in Germany, which have long benefited from a privileged status for local grids.

What happened?

An energy supply company wanted to build two combined heat and power plants in a neighborhood with a total of 10 apartment blocks with over 250 residential units and sell the electricity generated to the tenants of the apartments. In return, the company wanted the local distribution network operator to provide connections to its network and metering points. The distribution grid operator did not like this and refused – it would only work for Kundenanlagen (customer systems) and this was not the case. The energy supply company then had this reviewed by the courts.

What has case law said about this?

The Federal Court of Justice was not so sure about this either, because it is primarily a matter of European law. And in such cases, it is better to ask the European Court of Justice. And its answer, which the Federal Court of Justice has now confirmed, was clear: a customer installation may not simultaneously constitute a distribution network within the meaning of European law. However, the line systems planned by the energy supply company for the district are such distribution networks. The operator must therefore comply with the relevant regulatory requirements and does not benefit from the privileges of a customer installation. And that means – we are in Germany and in Europe – a lot of fun with a lot of regulations to be observed. In addition, the whole thing will also lead to higher costs for end customers, as grid fees will be payable from now on. This will make local energy generation much more complicated and therefore more expensive.

What happens now?

The new German government had pledged to quickly make Germany less bureaucratic and reduce electricity prices. The decision is counterproductive for both. For the energy transition anyway.

And even worse: the legislator can do little at national level for the time being, because the whole thing comes from Brussels. It will therefore be interesting to see how the new German government deals with the decision and when it will make representations to Brussels.

Der Beitrag THE KUNDENANLAGE erschien zuerst auf TYSKRET.

The outline of how this is to be achieved can be seen in the coalition agreement. There is to be an initiative to speed up the planning and approval process – not only at German level, but also at European level.

Here are 5 highlights from the coalition agreement:

1. The construction turbo is now to be ignited after all.

Background: The old federal government had already planned to introduce Section 246e BauGB, which was intended to allow deviations from the requirements of the Building Code (BauGB). This particularly affected areas with a tight housing market. Put simply, the creation of housing in these areas was to be facilitated and accelerated by dispensing with the need to amend or draw up development plans. The legislative process was well advanced, but did not make it through the Bundestag due to the abbreviated legislative period.

What is now planned: the turbo is to come after all – and at a pace appropriate for a turbo – namely within 100 days. A major amendment to building law, on the other hand, is expected in the course of the legislative period.

2. Planning procedures should be accelerated, among other things through

– Binding deadline regulations;

– Only one-time involvement of the public and public agencies;

– early commencement of measures;

– and – last but not least – complete (!) digitalization of planning and approval procedures.

The last point in particular sounds promising and sets the bar high for the government.

3. Spatial planning law should be endowed with “overriding public interest”

Background: Public law always involves weighing up different public and/or private interests. What is weighted and how is always dependent on the responsible actors and can therefore vary greatly. Many project developers have had the painful experience that their interests have had to take a back seat to other (public) interests and have therefore failed. The previous government had found a way out for renewables. The weighting is influenced by the fact that certain projects are deemed to be of “overriding public interest”. Not unstoppable, but much harder to prevent.

What is planned: The idea of Section 2 EEG is now apparently to be extended further to enable or accelerate construction projects. It could work well in practice.

4. Population protection and easier designation of compensation and replacement measures

The course was also set in the area of environmental protection during the last legislative period. Individual protection of species is to be replaced by population protection, which is already partly provided for in the existing regulations. In the case of compensation and replacement measures, greater networking is planned.

5. Deviation from recognized rules of technology

Also interesting is a sentence according to which deviations from the recognized rules of technology should no longer necessarily constitute a defect in the future. Why is this being done?

The so-called building type E, which stands for faster and less complicated construction, is often prevented because its construction is actually “defective” per se, because it violates recognized rules of technology. But: is it necessary for a functional building to always comply with all recognized rules of technology? Or is Germany possibly tripping itself up with its high quality standards?

These are just a few examples that do not claim to be exhaustive. A work of art that the coalition has already accomplished before its launch also deserves attention: the abolition of a law that does not even exist has been announced. The coalition will have to explain exactly what is meant by the abolition of the Heating Act (Heizungsgesetz). Even after further research, such a law has still not been found. However, if the aim is to simplify the Building Energy Act, this would be welcome.

Der Beitrag CONSTRUCTION SITE GERMANY The coalition agreement erschien zuerst auf TYSKRET.

Against this backdrop, there are numerous legislative changes and proposals, some of which have been initiated by the federal government or the state governments and some of which are prescribed at European level.

This weekly blog is intended to help keep abreast of the most important developments, particularly from an international perspective.

WEEK 2:

• What’s new on the German property market?

Axel Röpke has already reported on this in the blog (https://tyskret.com/language/da/skal-mit-tyske-gbr-i-det-nye-tyske-selskabsregister/), but because it is also of great importance for the property sector in particular, it should be pointed out once again here: since 1 January 2024, the society under civil law can be entered in a company register (so-called eGbR). Although this is not an obligation, it does create a de facto obligation in the land register procedure. A GbR should only be entered in the land register if it is recorded in the company register. Changes in the land register now also require an entry in the company register. For a GbR wishing to operate in the property sector, entry in the company register will therefore be essential in future.

• What’s going on in Hamburg?

As reported in WEEK 1, Germany now has a Heat Planning Act. § Section 14 of this law provides for a so-called suitability test as one of the first steps. This is primarily intended to identify areas that are unlikely to be suitable for being supplied by a heating or hydrogen network. For these people, this means that it is better to think about a heat pump (or one of the other alternatives provided for in the Building Energy Act). The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg has now published its suitability test. Anyone can therefore check what the current status is for their living space.

The suitability test can be accessed here: https://geoportal-hamburg.de/geo-online/?Map/layerIds=1043,29061&visibility=true,true&transparency=0,0&Map/center=%5b564609.2923496087,5933349.1452702%5d&Map/zoomLevel=3

However, it is doubtful whether the category “not very suitable for heating networks”, for example, provides sufficient planning security.

• And what does case law do?

The BGH teaches us what you should not do as an architect – namely provide legal services (just as little as planning services as a lawyer). In a recent decision by the 7th Senate, an architect had drafted a discount clause for a client, which proved to be invalid (due to a breach of general terms and conditions). According to the BGH, the provision of a discount clause for use in contracts with contractors carrying out construction work constitutes a legal service (BGH of 9 November 2023, VII ZR 190/22). The architect is therefore liable for the invalidity of the clause due to a breach of the Legal Services Act (and professional liability is unlikely to help here either). Sometimes less (service) is simply more. The lesson learnt: In an increasingly complex world, restraint is required in non-specialist areas.

Der Beitrag R-E-B-U-I-L-D – weekly erschien zuerst auf TYSKRET.

WEEK 1:
• What’s new on the German property market?
In 2023, the output of newly installed photovoltaic systems reached record highs, not at least due to a boom in “balcony power plants”.

It has actually come into force: the Building Energy Act (also known nationally and internationally as “Habeck’s Heating Act”) has been in force in Germany since the beginning of January 2024 – https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/geg/index.html

Perhaps even more important, but from a Scandinavian perspective probably rather tiredly smiled at: the German attempt to “enter” district heating planning with the so-called Heat Planning Act, which has also been in force since the beginning of January – https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/wpg/BJNR18A0B0023.html. The Building Energy Act and the Heat Planning Act are intended to dovetail and initiate the German heating transition.

Prices for German residential property fell more sharply last year than they have for at least 60 years
– Condominiums became 8.9 % cheaper
– Single-family homes became 11.3 % cheaper
– Multi-family houses became 20.1 % cheaper

 Commercial property: Many commercial properties have been vacant since the coronavirus pandemic. According to recent studies, around 1.8 million square metres of office space that can be converted into residential space is available in Germany’s 7 major cities. The German government intends to create incentives for conversion.

• What’s going on in Hamburg?
The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg – which entered the race with the goal of issuing 10,000 permits for residential construction per year – also clearly missed its 2023 target. Just 5,404 were issued last year. Politicians are doing what they have to do: the high level of subsidy approvals for social housing (2380 approvals) is praised.

• And what is the case law doing?
It has become particularly popular among cities and municipalities to no longer sell their own land, but to grant it by way of a so-called heritable building right (colloquially often also referred to as a leasehold) with a building obligation. The rules for this are set out in the Leasehold Act. However, according to the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), there is room for manoeuvre for cities and municipalities, which can mean that a leaseholder who does not fulfil their obligations (in particular the obligation to build) can, in the worst case, lose their leasehold without compensation (BGH, judgement of 19 January 2024, case no. V ZR 191/22). The heritable building right will therefore probably remain the favourite of cities and municipalities.

Der Beitrag R-E-C-O-N-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-O-N – weekly erschien zuerst auf TYSKRET.

In view of the considerable change in the world situation, the German real estate and energy industry is undergoing a dynamic process of change. The fight against climate change can no longer be delayed.  Global trouble spots have caused inflation to rise and, as a result, significant increases in interest rates. This has brought the boom years of the real estate industry in particular to an abrupt end. The energy industry, on the other hand, must manage a rapid and as smooth as possible transformation from fossil to renewable.

Against this background, there are numerous legislative changes and proposals, some of which have been initiated by the German federal government or state governments, and some of which have been mandated by the European level.

This blog is intended to provide an overview of new developments – especially for our international clients.

Episode 1: Housing policy

1 What is at stake?

In its 2021 coalition agreement, the German government promised to create the conditions for building 400,000 apartments a year, 100,000 of which would be social housing. This was in line with the identified need and was intended to counteract the increasing housing shortage, especially in metropolitan areas (such as the seven largest cities, but also numerous student towns).

2 Did it succeed?

Not even close. The target has been and will be missed by a wide margin. The target is not expected to be achieved in the next few years either. If anything, the outlook for 2024 is even bleaker than this year, with some talking about more like 200,000 housing units being completed in 2024. At the same time, demand has increased to more like 700,000 apartments due to increasing migration, among other factors.

3 Where does this come from?

Due to a long-lasting boom phase in the real estate sector, reforms were not tackled for a long time. On the contrary, the federal states also wanted a piece of the pie and increased the real estate transfer tax to often 6.5% and often demanded that project developers assume the costs for development and infrastructure in urban development contracts. This worked as long as the project developers were able to make a good living from it. However, the Corona crisis first led to supply bottlenecks for numerous construction materials, and the Ukraine war led to increasing inflation, which the central banks are fighting with ever-rising interest rates. Under these conditions, many project developers can no longer realize projects without being driven to the brink of bankruptcy – or beyond …

4 What shall now be done on the political side to achieve the turnaround?

The responsible Federal Ministry of Construction has now developed a 14-point plan that is intended to lead to more housing construction in the medium term at any rate (available here: https://www.bmwsb.bund.de/SharedDocs/topthemen/Webs/BMWSB/DE/Massnahmenpaket-bauen/massnahmenpaket-artikel.html). Experts expect a real effect on the housing market around 2025.

5 What is planned?

Probably the most important, planned items are:

– Introduction of a special depreciation allowance.

Planned is a declining balance depreciation for wear and tear (AfA) in the amount of 6% until October 1, 2029. Important: no construction cost cap, prerequisite EH 55 standard, link to start of construction (not building application).

– Alignment of the building codes of the federal states, serial construction.

A central problem is that the building codes of the federal states in Germany have very different regulations, which significantly complicates nationwide activity in the construction sector. The regulations of the building codes should therefore be harmonized more closely, although this has already been discussed for decades. There is a push by the Federal Chamber of Architects, which has submitted a draft for amending the model building code, which has at least been coordinated with all chambers of the federal states (can be downloaded here: https://bak.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/bak-legt-musterumbauordnung-vor-als-beitrag-zur-nachhaltigen-entwicklung-von-staedten-und-kommunen/). Central role is to take among other things the so-called serial and/or modular building. So-called type approvals are to be introduced so that a project for which approval is granted in one federal state is not rejected in another federal state.

– Postponement of the legally binding nature of the EH-40 standard

It has been announced that the EH-40 standard, which was actually intended to be mandatory, will no longer become the statutory standard in this legislative period due to the associated costs. However, many institutional investors now demand this standard anyway – if only because of ESG requirements. There are many calls from the industry for a subsidy program for buildings that meet the EH-50 standard to be implemented again in the short term to stimulate the construction industry.

– EUR 18.15 billion for social housing construction

In many cities in Germany, more than half of the inhabitants are entitled to a housing entitlement certificate. However, the lack of flexibility in the subsidy channels is often criticized by the industry. More steps are needed to make social housing actually attractive again. The position paper does not comment on this at present.

6 What else is in the position paper?

Simplification and acceleration of the construction of affordable housing (amendment of the BauGB planned), promotion of climate-friendly new construction and home ownership for families, home ownership program “Jung kauf Alt” (young buy old), introduction of a new non-profit housing association (probably based on the Vienna model), promotion program for young housing (EUR 500 million. 500 million will go toward the construction of student and apprentice dormitories), simplification of construction (by promoting building type E), discounted sale of real estate from the Federal Real Estate Agency (BImA), adjustment of noise limits as residential development approaches, promotion of the installation of climate-friendly heating systems, and reduction of ancillary acquisition costs (e.g. through greater flexibility in real estate transfer tax) are also part of the 14-point plan.

7 When will all this come about?

In principle, the measures are to be implemented during this legislative period, i.e. by 2025. However, many of the measures are even to be launched in 2023, although this remains to be seen. We will take a closer look at the individual points as soon as concrete proposals are available.

Der Beitrag U-M-B-A-U – New developments in the real estate and energy industry erschien zuerst auf TYSKRET.

Background:

In the past, some real estate agents in Germany offered interested clients the possibility to reserve a property for a certain period of time by paying a fee. The BGH now ruled that the agreement of such a reservation fee in general terms and conditions is invalid. In the underlying case, the plaintiffs had concluded a brokerage contract with the defendant, a real estate agent. To reserve a property, the parties also concluded a reservation agreement which provided for the payment of a reservation fee. The plaintiffs later decided not to purchase the land and subsequently demanded the fee back from the real estate agent. However, the defendant refused to repay the fee, citing the general terms and conditions.

The decision:

The judges of the I. Civil Senate now decided that a clause which excludes the repayment of the reservation fee without exception constitutes an unreasonable disadvantage for the potential buyers and is therefore invalid. They justified this by stating that the prospective buyer does not gain any significant advantages from the conclusion of the reservation contract and that, moreover, the real estate agent does not provide any consideration of monetary value in this context. The reservation fee thus contradicts the guiding principle of the statutory regulation of the brokerage contract, according to which a commission is only owed if the brokerage activity has led to success.

Consequences of the ruling:

Broker clients who have paid a reservation fee to their real estate agent on the basis of a form-based agreement can now claim it back on the basis of this BGH ruling. We will be happy to assist you in reclaiming reservation fees. If you have any questions on this topic, please do not hesitate to contact us!

Dr. Matthias Laas

Christoph Schulze

Dr. Mark Unger

Der Beitrag BGH: Reservation fees for the purchase of real estate are invalid erschien zuerst auf TYSKRET.

It is now clear what this successor model should look like. On 25 January 2023, Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz issued a press release and presented the new “Guideline for Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings – Climate-friendly New Construction (KFN)”.

Here is a first overview of the content:

1. When will funding begin?

Funding will start on 1 March 2023.

2. Who is eligible to apply?

Basically, all investors, especially companies.

3. Where do I apply for funding?

The Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) has been commissioned. Applications must be submitted via the financing partners of KfW.

ATTENTION: the application must be submitted BEFORE the start of the project.

4. Are only new buildings funded?

No, the first acquisition is also funded, provided that this takes place within 12 months after (civil) acceptance of the construction project.

5. Does the subsidy only apply to residential buildings?

No, in addition to residential buildings, non-residential buildings that meet the corresponding requirements (see point 6) are also supported.

6. What standard do buildings have to meet in order to receive funding?

In any case, this is the standard Efficiency House 40/ Efficiency Building 40. In addition, the building must fall within the scope of the Building Energy Act (Gebäudeenergiegesetz) and meet the requirements for the Sustainable Building PLUS (QNG-PLUS) quality seal. In addition, there will be further minimum technical requirements, which will result from a regularly updated KfW leaflet.

Incidentally, there are two stages:

(i) Funding level 1

(ii) Funding level 2, here an additional certification of an accredited certification body with the quality seal Sustainable Building PLUS (QNG-PLUS) or the quality seal Sustainable Building Premium (QNG-PREMIUM) is required.

7. Can I claim other funding at the same time?

This is possible in principle, but difficult, in particular to avoid double claims of the same eligible costs. If in doubt, you should play it safe here.

8. Is the funding earmarked?

The funding requires an appropriate use of ten years.

9. How is funding provided?

A loan is granted with interest subsidies (different only for local authorities)

10. What costs are eligible?

Basically, the entire construction costs (including technical facilities, specialist planning, construction supervision and certification).

11. What are the credit limits?

• For climate-friendly residential buildings: max. EUR 100 k per residential unit

• For climate-friendly residential buildings with QNG: max. EUR 150 k per unit

• For climate-friendly non-residential buildings: max. EUR 2 k per sqm, max. EUR 10 million per project

• For climate-friendly non-residential buildings with QNG: max. EUR 3k per sqm, max. 15 million per project

12. What is the duration?

The minimum term is 4 years.

There are different runtime variants:

(a) For residential buildings:

(i) up to 10 years, repayment at maturity, fixed interest rate for the entire repayment term

(ii) up to 10 years, max. 2 grace years, fixed interest rate for the entire repayment term

(iii) up to 25 years, max. 3 grace years, fixed interest rate first 10 years

(iv) up to 35 years, max. 5 repayment exemption years, fixed interest rate first 10 years

(b) For non-residential buildings:

(i) up to 5 years, max. 1 grace period, fixed interest rate for the entire repayment term

(ii) up to 10 years, max. 2 grace years, fixed interest rate for the entire repayment term

(iii) up to 20 years, max. 3 repayment exemption years, fixed interest rate first 10 years

(iv) up to 30 years, max. 5 repayment exemption years, fixed interest rate first 10 years

Interest rate based on capital market development, reduced from federal funds by up to 4% p.a. of the loan amount (max. 10 years)

13. Is there an entitlement to funding?

The funding takes place within the scope of dutiful discretion, but a claim may under certain circumstances be derived from the principle of self-commitment of the administration.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Dr. Matthias Laas

Foto: unsplash, Étienne Beauregard-Riverin

Der Beitrag New funding for climate-friendly new construction in Germany erschien zuerst auf TYSKRET.

Forudsætningerne for den sociale miljøbevaringslov

Kommunen kan indføre denne lovgivning i visse områder, hvor dette findes nødvendigt for at bevare en befolkningsmæssig diversitet og dermed forhindre at byen bliver delt op i sociale klasser. Om denne forudsætning foreligger er et vurderingsspørgsmål, og vil i de fleste byer praktisk afhænge af kommunens aktuelle politiske retning.

“Soziale Erhaltungssatzung”: Krav om tilladelse for alle byggemæssige ændringer, moderniseringer og opdelinger i ejerlejligheder

Hvis en ”soziale Erhaltungssatzung” er indført, gælder et krav om en særlig tilladelse for alle bygningsmæssige ændringer. Omfattet er både moderniseringer, ombyggnationer med ændringer i planløsningen, nedrivninger, andre ændringer og tilbygninger. Derudover er det også kun muligt at opdele ejendomme i ejerlejligheder med tilladelse fra kommunen.

I denne sammenhæng findes der altså brede fortolkningsmuligheder for kommunen som benyttes for at gennemtvinge en politisk agenda – særlig med hensyn til lejeniveauer. Afslag på en ansøgning sker derfor ofte på baggrund af at en ejer ikke vil skrive under på kommunens krav.

Kommunen har en forkøbsret – i visse tilfælde er denne prisbegrænset

Indenfor området af den sociale miljøbevaringslov har kommunen desuden en almindelig forkøbsret ved salg af ejendomme – men ikke ved salg af ejerlejligheder. En forudsætning for anvendelsen af forkøbsretten er, at en købsaftale er blevet indgået mellem ejeren og en køber. Reglerne kan dermed medføre, at kommunen kan beslutte at overtage en købsaftale mellem to parter.

Kommunen skal i princippet betale den købspris, der er aftalt mellem sælger og den oprindelige køber. Dette gælder med mindre den aftalte pris ligger betydeligt over den offentlige ejendomsværdi (med 25 %) – hvilket ofte er tilfældet i dag. Da kan kommunen bringe købsprisen ned på den ”rimelige” offentlige ejendomsværdi.

Da det i mange tilfælde vil medføre et væsentlig tab for sælgeren at sælge til denne lavere pris, vil sælgeren helst undgå at sælge til kommunen. Han har da kun mulighed for at afstå helt fra et salg, beholde ejendommen og håbe på ”bedre tider”, forhandle en aftale med kommunen om andre villkår, eller forsøge at opdele ejendommen i ejerlejligheder – med ventefrist på 7 år eller salg til lejere.

Kommunen anvender den sociale miljøbevaringslov til at forhandle med ejere eller købere

Hamborg og Berlin har vedtaget flere ”soziale Erhaltungssatzungen” (Erhaltungsverordnungen i Hamborg) i løbet af de sidste år og anvender allerede reglerne. Også i Köln, Leipzig og yderligere byer planlægges indførslen er sådanne love.

Anvendelsen af loven har hidtil været relativ ”usynlig”. I nyhederne de sidste måneder fremgik det dog, at kommuner benytter sig af lovgivningen, for at få ejere eller købere til at skrive under på vilkår, som medfører yderligere begrænsninger for at få tilladelse til sine byggeplaner eller for at forhindre kommunen i at bruge sin forkøbsret.

I et tilfælde i 2018, da en kendt svensk ejendomsfond ville købe en ejendom i Hamborg, indikerede kommunen, at de ville påberåbe sig sin forkøbsret, hvis ikke køberen ville skrive under på, at der ikke ville blive foretaget ændringer eller moderniseringer på ejendommen, samt at der ikke ville blive krævet en leje som overstiger den midterste værdi i følge ”Mietspiegel”. I andre tilfælde har en aftale også været betinget af kommunens krav om et langfristet opdelingsforbud.

Praktisk relevans for ejendomsinvestorerne – ta’ hensyn til reglerne og planlæg langsigtet

Som ejendomsinvestor er det ikke nogen mulighed at ignorere kravet på en tilladelse. Det kan lede til bøder på op til 30.000 EUR per overtrædelse. Desuden kan det blive nødvendigt at fortryde projekter samt at gennemføre moderniseringslejestigninger, da en modernisering ikke er mulig med manglende tilladelse.

Praktisk medfører det altså, at ejendomme i områder med en ”soziale Erhaltungsverordnung” er betydelig sværere at udvikle og endnu sværere at sælge. Typisk vil det derfor være fornuftigt i god tid, at opdele en ejendom i ejerlejligheder inden en sådan lov bliver vedtaget. Selv hvis loven allerede er vedtaget, er der mulighed for at opdele ejendomme i ejerlejligheder, hvis investoren har tid til at vente i nogle år.

Hvis du har spørsmål er du velkommen kontakte

Christoph Schulze

Dr. Nils Grenda

Text: Olivia Pedersen, Nils Grenda

Billede: Sagawe & Klages Rechtsanwälte

Der Beitrag Soziale Erhaltungssatzung – Bevaring af det sociale miljø i tyske storbyer erschien zuerst auf TYSKRET.

Opsigelse uden varsel på grund af betalingsrestance mulig

Som udlejer kender man desværre situationen, at lejeren ikke længere betaler sin leje. I Tyskland kan man derfor bl.a. opsige en lejekontrakt uden varsel, når lejeren ikke har betalt i mere end 2 måneder. Egentligt er kontrakten dermed ophævet.

Lejerens redning: ”henstandsbetaling” (Schonfristzahlung)

Den tyske lovgivning indeholder dog en særlig bestemmelse til fordel for lejeren: En opsigelse uden varsel, der givet betalingsrestancen i første omgang er gyldig, bliver efter en såkaldt ”henstandsbetaling” foretaget af lejeren efter modtagelse af opsigelsen i henhold til §569 pkt. 3, nr. 2 BGB (den tyske civillov) ugyldig. En henstandsbetaling foreligger, når lejeren senest inden udløbet af to måneder efter tilsendelse af fraflytningsklagen betaler den skyldige leje og brugsgodtgørelse. Så fortsætter lejeaftalen.

Almindelig opsigelse mulig på samme tid og af samme opsigelsesgrund?

Da lejeren med den manglende betaling har vist sig at være upålidelig, vil flere udlejere alligevel ønske, at ophæve lejekontrakten med lejeren. Hidtil var det omstridt om dette er muligt igennem en – samtidig med opsigelsen uden varsel – subsidært opsigelse på standardvilkår grundet forsinket betaling. Lejeforholdet ville så ikke ophøre med det samme, men efter udløbet af den lovbestemte opsigelsesfrist. Denne tilgang bruges af mange udlejere men er hidtil blevet afvist af nogle domstole.

Den tyske højesterets afgørelse: En samtidig almindelig opsigelse er i princippet mulig, men opsigelsesgrunden skal prøves af retten i de enkelte tilfælde

Med dom af d. 19. september 2018 (sagsnummer VIII ZR 231/17) har den tyske højesteret (Bundesgerichtshof – den øverste ret i civilsager) gjort det klart, at dette principielt er muligt.

I sagen havde den sagsøgte ikke betalt husleje i to på hinanden følgende måneder. Herpå havde sagsøgeren som udlejer, opsagt lejemålet uden varsel og samtidig subsidært på standardvilkår, begge grundet i den forsinkede betaling. Den sagsøgte betalte efter modtagelse af opsigelsen de påløbne restancer i form af ”henstandsbetaling”, opsigelsen uden varsel blev dermed ugyldig. Udlejeren ville dog fortsat holde fast i den almindelige opsigelse. I landsretten blev hans krav dog tilbagevist. Først ved højesteretten fik han medhold.

Efter højesterettens afgørelse skal der i de enkelte tilfælde nu altid afklares, om den subsidære almindelige opsigelse er gyldig. Her skal retten især kontrollere, om påberåbelsen af den almindelige opsigelse er gyldig på grund af omstændighederne i det enkelte tilfældet og en eventuel udligning af restancerne kort tid efter tilgangen af opsigelsen. Alene det faktum at lejeren har ydet ”henstandsbetalingen” hurtigt, burde dog ikke være tilstrækkelig til at vurdere udlejers almindelige opsigelse som gyldig. Derudover burde snarere flere beskyttelsesværdige grunde fra lejerens side være nødvendig.

Vi rådgiver derfor vores kunder fortrinsvist allerede forud for en opsigelse om, hvordan ekstraordinære og almindelige opsigelser bedst kan kombineres og håndhæves.

Hvis der er spørgsmål er du velkommen til at henvende dig til

Christoph Schulze

Ingo Schmidtmann

Billede: Sagawe & Klages Rechtsanwälte

Der Beitrag Tysk højesteret om opsigelse af lejekontrakt på grund af betalingsrestance erschien zuerst auf TYSKRET.