- La disputada causa sobre reclamación de daños de un inquilino a una fianza de inquilinos está actualmente en juicio en el Bundesgerichtshof (BGH) en Karlsruhe, un tribunal prominente en la ley de arrendamientos en Alemania.
- En este caso específico, un inquilino se ha ido de su vivienda alquilada seis meses atrás y busca el pago de su fianza de 780 Euros, ya que su dueño de la vivienda reclamó daños en la propiedad pero notificó más tarde que lo hacía que en el plazo normal de seis meses.
- Beate Heilmann, abogada inmobiliaria y experta en arrendamientos y derecho inmobiliario, explica que los inquilinos pueden conservar fianzas de inquilinos por diversas razones, incluyendo reclamaciones por pagos de alquiler atrasados o daños en la vivienda alquilada, como se ha visto en el caso BGH anterior.
- La Agencia de Prensa Alemana informó sobre este caso, resaltando la importancia de comprender las implicaciones de la ley de arrendamientos y los detalles específicos de las fianzas y reclamaciones de daños en Alemania en los arreglos de vivienda.
Vivir - ¿Deducir los daños de la fianza? El BGH se pronuncia sobre un litigio de alquiler
When can a landlord retain a tenant's security deposit? (Puede un inquilano retener la fianza de un inquilino?)
Landlords can retain a tenant's security deposit under various circumstances. "This can be an unpaid rent claim or back payments for utility costs," says Beate Heilmann, a real estate lawyer and expert in tenancy and property law, speaking to the German Press Agency. For repairs neglected in the rental agreement, the money can also be withheld – provided they were agreed upon in the lease. "And then there are the landlord's claims for damages to the rental property, as in the BGH case at hand."
What is the issue in the specific case? (¿Qué hay de específico en este caso?)
In this case, a tenant had sued her landlord because he did not return her security deposit of approximately 780 Euros after her move-out. The landlord justified this by stating that he was offsetting the security deposit against his damage claims. Since the landlord offset the deposit more than six months after the tenant's move-out, the tenant's argument was that his claims had expired. She sued for the return of the security deposit – and won in the lower courts.
When do landlord's damage claims expire? (Cuándo expiran las reclamaciones de daños de inquilinos?)
In general, landlords have six months from the return of a rental unit to demand damages for property damage from their former tenants. However, the Civil Code allows an exception to the limitation period: If the claim could have been asserted within the six months, the assertion is still possible later.
A condition for this exception is that both claims are of the same type – in other words, a cash-for-cash claim. This is important because landlords can choose between demanding a monetary damage claim or allowing the tenant to restore the original condition of the rental property – a so-called natural restoration. Only monetary claims are equivalent to the security deposit and can be offset against it.
What are the potential consequences of the judgment? (¿Qué pueden ser las consecuencias de la sentencia?)
Before the Federal Court of Justice, the question is therefore about whether the defendant landlord could have notified within the six-month period that they were demanding compensation for damages as a monetary damages claim - and not as a restitution in kind. A tenant-friendly judgment could have consequences for housing and property owners. In case of damages to the rental object, they might have to file similar claims within the limitation period in order to be able to offset them against the security deposit. They would therefore have to notify this no later than six months after the tenant's departure, that they are demanding compensation for damages in the form of monetary damages.
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