Hamburg Local Court, 26 October 2023, Ref.: 49 C 294/22
In many cases, the buyer of a house wants to use the house for themselves and their family. In this case, a personal use cancellation is necessary. But what happens if the house first has to be remodelled before it can be used for personal use? Is it a prerequisite for the personal use cancellation that a building permit has already been granted or at least applied for? The Hamburg Local Court had to deal with this in the case discussed here.
Facts of the Case:
The plaintiff was the landlord and made a claim against the defendant tenant for personal use.
The plaintiff, a legal entity, had terminated the tenancy because a shareholder wanted to use the house with its three existing flats as a single-family home with his family, i.e. his wife and three children. To this end, the shareholder wanted to remove the lockable flat entrance doors so that the original condition of the building, which had initially been a detached house after construction, would ultimately be restored.
Plaintiff had neither received nor applied for planning permission and did not plan to do so
However, the plaintiff had not applied for a building permit to this effect either before the cancellation or during the ongoing proceedings.
The plaintiff argued that planning permission was not required for the conversion into a single-family home, as it was essentially a demolition and, moreover, no requirements for a second escape route were to be expected, as it was possible to lead to the side of the building.
Decision of the Hamburg Local Court
Court ruled that cancellation for personal use had been declared "in advance"
The Hamburg Local Court ruled that there was no right to eviction. The termination for personal use was an inadmissible preliminary termination, as the plaintiff required planning permission for the conversion and did not intend to obtain this at the time of the termination notice.
Planning permission is not required, but must at least be planned
It is true that the landlord's termination due to personal use does not require a building permit to be in place at the time the notice of termination is issued, even in the case of conversion measures required due to the owner's wish to use the property themselves (see OLG Frankfurt, Rechtsentscheid Mietsachen v. 25.06.1992). In this respect, it is sufficient if planning permission is granted (see AG Hamburg-St. Georg ZMR 2015, 35). However, the planned conversion measures would have to be planned in such concrete terms when the notice of termination for personal use is issued so that the feasibility of the building project can be checked. A cancellation in the blue without a corresponding reliable preliminary structural and building permit examination is not sufficient (see AG Hamburg-Altona ZMR 2014, 456). In this respect, it is generally sufficient if the authorisation has already been applied for or the application is expected to be submitted by the end of the notice period.
Without authorisation, the necessary conversion is not possible
However, if a building permit is required and the landlord decides not to obtain it, the termination on the grounds of personal use is an inadmissible pre-emptive termination. This is because the conversion into a single-family home cannot be legally realised without the corresponding approval. A landlord may only give notice of termination once his plans have reached a stage at which it can be assessed whether the realisation of the plan justifies termination (see Ag Hamburg-Altona, judgement of 17.04.2020 ref.: 318c C 5/19).
Source: Hamburg Local Court
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