District Court of Berlin, 11.12.2014, Case No.: 67 S 278/14
When entering into contracts, the parties involved should exercise utmost caution to avoid legal disputes from the outset.
Every contract requires the so-called „essentialia negotii,“ i.e., the necessary components of a contract. If one or more of these elements are missing, no contract is established in the first place.
In rental contracts, the essentialia negotii are the contracting parties, the rental property, the duration of the lease, and the amount of the rent.
To conclude legally sound contracts, all other contractual components should also be carefully drafted.
In the case presented here from the District Court of Berlin, the parties had not explicitly agreed in the rental contract whether the rent was to be paid monthly, quarterly, or annually. The tenant believed that she only had to pay EUR 680.00 once a year, while the landlord argued that this amount had to be paid monthly.
Background of the Case
The case involved an eviction lawsuit filed by the plaintiff landlord against the defendant tenant, who had rented an apartment. The dispute centered on the question of the intervals at which the rent was to be paid. The tenant believed that the rent of 680 euros was to be paid annually because no explicit agreement on monthly or quarterly payments had been made in the rental contract. The landlord, on the other hand, argued that the rent was due monthly and sued the tenant, who was in arrears with the rent payments.
Decision of the Local Court
In the first instance, the Local Court dismissed the landlord’s claim and followed the tenant’s argument. It saw no payment arrears that would justify a termination since there had been no valid termination. The court ruled that the rental contract remained in effect, and thus, the eviction claim could not succeed.
Appeal at the District Court of Berlin
The District Court of Berlin, however, decided in favor of the landlord on appeal. It ruled that the tenant was obliged to vacate and hand over the apartment because the rental contract had been validly terminated by extraordinary notice. The basis for the termination was the tenant’s payment arrears, as she was in default for a period of more than two terms, with an amount equivalent to two months‘ rent.
Interpretation of the Rental Contract
The District Court found that the rental contract clearly provided for a monthly rent of 680 euros. Although the parties had not explicitly stated payment intervals such as „monthly“ or „annually“ in the rental contract, an interpretation under §§ 133 and 157 of the German Civil Code (BGB) indicated that the rent was to be paid monthly. This was particularly evident from the amount of the rent—680 euros—and the monthly operating cost allowance of 200 euros. Annual payment would have been unusual for such a small amount of rent. Thus, the tenant was in arrears with the monthly rent, and the landlord was entitled to an extraordinary termination under § 543 BGB.
Conclusion and Judgment
The District Court ruled that the landlord’s termination of the tenancy was valid, as the tenant was in arrears with several months‘ rent at the time of the termination. The rule on ambiguities under § 305c (2) BGB, which states that ambiguities should be interpreted in favor of the contracting partner, did not apply here, as there were no irreconcilable doubts regarding the interpretation of the rental contract. Consequently, the tenant was obliged to vacate and hand over the apartment. The judgment overturned the Local Court’s decision and confirmed the landlord’s right to evict and reclaim the apartment and its inventory.
This judgment demonstrates that in the absence of specified payment intervals in a rental contract, the interpretation must follow general principles, and that significant rent arrears justify extraordinary termination.
Source: Berlin Regional Court
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