For how long can I sub-let my apartment?

There is no legal time limit for sublease agreements. The decisive factor is the length of time to which the landlord has given consent.

If you rent out the apartment to tourists by the day or, at the other extreme, move abroad for five years, the landlord is unlikely to give consent.

If, by contrast, you move abroad for six months for a project and will return afterwards, the landlord will understand your motivation for wanting to sublease and in most cases will provide consent. It is always helpful to be open and transparent with the landlord.

What do I do if the sub-tenant falls into arrears?

If you have booked our SECURITY package, we monitor the rent payments for you and keep you informed. We contact the subtenant and in most cases find a solution and avoid any lost rent.

If rent payments are not received in due course, we recommend the following steps:

Regularly check your bank account for receipt of payments. If you do not receive payment within the first week of the month, call the subtenant and set a short deadline of approximately one week, as you will then know by the middle of the month whether the subtenant simply forgot to make the payment or is stalling. If you have received no or insufficient payment by the middle of the month, issue a dunning notice to the subtenant. The important thing is to make it absolutely clear that they are violating the terms of the contract and that there are consequences if they continue to violate the contract. This is important and necessary for any later termination proceedings (see LG Berlin decision of 12/06/11, Az. 63 p. 178/11).

Legal requirements in the case of termination

The landlord can only terminate the lease contract if he has a legitimate interest in ending it. The landlord must justify the termination of contract. According to Section § 573 of the German Civil Code (BGB), a legitimate interest exists if the landlord can claim the property for their own use.

Termination of a residential property lease contract must be made in writing. Periods of notice are in accordance with Section § 573c of the German Civil Code (BGB).

No responsibility is taken for the correctness of this information.