BGH strengthens landlords when settling deposits for damages
Renters and landlords continue to argue over the retention of deposits after tenants move out regarding the validity of doing so. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has now made a legal fine-tuning decision in this regard, with implications for practice.
In the rental dispute over the calculation of damage claims against the deposit, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has weakened the position of landlords (VIII ZR 184/23).
Landlords should be able to charge their tenants for the costs of repairing damages to their rental property using the deposit, even if they have not exercised their right of recourse within the six-month statute of limitations, according to the Karlsruhe Senate in a ruling. This right of recourse allows landlords to demand monetary compensation for damages instead of repairing the damaged item.
Recording of identical claims
Generally, landlords have six months after the return of a rental property to demand rental damage compensation from their former tenants. However, there is an exception: If the claim could have been recorded before it expired, then recording it later is still possible. A condition for this is that it involves identical claims.
Whether this applied to the case presented to the BGH was among the issues under discussion. In this specific case, a tenant had sued her landlord because he had not returned the deposit of approximately 780 Euros to her after she moved out. The landlord justified this by stating that he was deducting the deposit to cover damage claims. However, according to the tenant, these claims had already expired. She therefore sued for the return of the deposit - and won in the lower courts.
The landlord's appeal was successful. The BGH overturned the Nuremberg-Fürth District Court's ruling and sent the case back for re-examination.
- The tenant, feeling that the landlord was unfairly withholding a deposit of approximately 780 Euros due to alleged damage claims, sought judgments in courts of law to have the deposit returned.
- As a tenant advisor, it's crucial to understand the implications of the BGH's decision regarding the retention of deposits and tenancy law, as landlords can now face legal issues if they fail to adhere to the courts' judgments.
- In the event of disputes over damage claims against a deposit, landlords should consult with legal advisors to ensure they follow the correct tenancy law procedures, as judgments and rulings from courts of law can have significant impacts on tenancy agreements.
- Tenants should be aware that even if they have moved out and the statute of limitations for damage claims has expired, landlords may still have the right to deduct repair costs from the deposit, provided the claims are identical and were not recorded before the limitation period expired.
