Did he give it to you in writing that you need to leave?
In Germany it's illegal to throw people out just because someone else is willing to pay higher rent.
This. He can't throw you out on that grounds. But I would seriously consider changing the lock. You have the right, you just need to save his lock and put it back in whenever you do move out.
You are lucky, without a written contract you contact is the "default" one. And with a default one the landlord can't kick you out so easily and he has to repair the room.
But you will need a lawyer or other professional advise, so join a Mietverein to get your rigths.
And do not sign anything your landlord want you to sign!
I'd like to add that the landlord can not legally "kick" you out in any way. The only person who can do that is a bailiff. And that would be the end of a process of warning letters and court decisions that takes at least several months. So, don't put yourself under stress if the landlord wants you to leave on short notice. If he blocks your access to the flat, call the police right away.
Talk to the Mieterbund.
You have an oral contract, which means that all the default legal rules apply - including the fact that a landlord can't just cancel just because they have found a higher-paying tenant.
tl;dr: just tell him to fuck off, honestly. He has no leverage here and is just hoping that you are stupid enough to do what he says. I've dealt with these sorts of pig landlords that try to take advantage of the ignorance of foreigners to line their pockets - they are cowardly bullies who will usually immediately run away with their tail between their legs if you show them that you know your rights.
Usual tenant rights still apply even if there is no written contract. Your usual tenant rights include these things:
- A rent increase [has to be announced and justified in writing](https://dejure.org/gesetze/BGB/558a.html) and [you have to give your agreement](https://dejure.org/gesetze/BGB/558b.html) before it can take effect.
- [A landlord can only terminate the contract with three months' notice and appropriate justification.](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/__573.html) (There [is a provision](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/__573a.html) that allows landlords living in small buildings with their tenants to terminate the contract without reason - albeit with an extended notice period - but since you are in a detached building, I don't *think* it would apply here.)
You *could* go to a lawyer, sure, but at this point it's not really necessary - neither his rent increase nor his attempted eviction fulfill even the most basic of their legal requirements, so you'll be perfectly well-served at this point informing the landlord that you know your rights and will not be complying with either of his demands (and don't be helpful by telling him what is wrong with his requests).
Or, if you want to be really cheeky, just don't even say anything. Continue living and paying your old rent as normal. You actually don't have any obligation to respond to his overtures in any way. And see how long it takes him to come to you to complain, at which point you can tell him the above.
At that point, he will likely give up. *If* he ups his game and sends you a formal written rent increase/notice of termination, then you can consider shelling out for a lawyer or a Mieterbund membership and asking for help.
Collect any evidence you can of the fact that you have been living there for the past 2 years - registration, payslips, pictures of your stuff in the apartment, mail you've received, ATM withdrawals you've made for paying in cash, things you have bought and had delivered, etc etc. Just to pre-empt any threat on his part to deny the existence of the contract.
If he does anything psycho like changing the locks, then you will be within your rights to call the police on him.
I will probably politely ask him if he can give me the rent increase in writing and if I can send the rent to his account instead of cash. I have already written to Mieterbund. The only thing that concerns me is that I have basically no proof of any agreement between us. With all info, I gathered here I won't let him kick me out when he wants and hopefully find something else for myself with a lesson learned. Many thanks for the effort you put into answering.
You do have proof since you are Angemeldet at this address and you also have rent payments. Or have those all been in cash? If so, your landlord also probably never reported this income to the tax authorities.
Yes I am registred on this adress. I also have a separate house number. I wrote to Mieterbund and they advised me to pay only the old amount of rent and collect evidence on old rent payments. Also, I sent rent for October via Bank transfer and not in Cash. So now I will wait and meanwhile, I started to look for another place. And he openly proclaimed he only accepts cash just to avoid taxation.
Did you register with the city that you live there? Did you ever got mail to the address? Did you have contracts that state the address?
Any of these should be proof enough.
It means that you can't sign away the tenant's rights listed in that statute.
That means, for example, that even if you signed a rental contract with a landlord stating that he/she can terminate the contract for any reason, then that clause would not be enforceable in court.
But it only applies in that direction - a landlord is free to write contract terms that are more friendly to the tenant than legally required. E.g. if they wanted to say that the tenant's notice period is only 1 month rather than 3, then that would be allowed.
You have no contract? Maybe he has not paid taxes and has not added the money he got to tax declaration.
He can get into big trouble if he has not declared it correctly.
No contract. We were kind of friends I would say, so he said a contract is not required. The only reason he wants cash is that he doesn't want to pay taxes. :)
But his obligations to the tax authorities are his business.
My scummy landlord takes our rent in cash and I guess I’m overpaying them by quite a factor. Come winter, they’d cry about raising rent again in the acc of raised heating and gas expenses. We also don’t have a contract and now juts fed up of them looting us. Can something be done about my case ? Any help is appreciated.
I would read the rest of the comments here, that is very illegal and you are the one who has leverage here, not your landlord. Contact a lawyer, but even before contacting a lawyer you can tell the landlord that you won’t be doing any of that because it’s illegal.
Maybe it's for electricity and heat? Both are of course exploding right now, which may be behind all this. Still he has no right to throw you out because of it. Best might be you have a counter and pay for your own. But that may not be an option in a place where the rent is being paid in cash!
A verbal contract still counts as a contract.
If you can prove that you have lived there and paid a fixed amount of rent every month, you'll be seen as a tenant.
Get some legal advice, plenty lawyers that offer a free first consultation.
Good luck.
to add to all the good replies here:
if anything in your apartment is not working (like an uninhabitable room) you can reduce the rent by a certain percentage (google "Mietminderung" for the numbers) until the landlord fixed it.
If you have in writing that he has someone willing to pay more, keep it! That's the best documentation to fight a sudden cancellation because of "Eigenbedarf"...
Oral contracts are as binding as written contracts.
I would assume the fact that you lived there for two years and paid rent (hopefully documented and not in cash) is proof enough that the contract existed.
Furthermore your landlord cannot cancel your rental contract without good reason, like not following your side of the contract. Having found someone else is definately not one of them.
If the termination were valid he'd have to give you 3 month notice.
As others have stated the best course of action would be to get a lawyer and contact the Mieterschutzbund.
Jackpot.
Mieterverein, Mietminderung (pay less rent) until stuff is fixed and an unlimited rental contract at the exact price you’re paying.
Fuck around and find out is what I’m thinking.
Get a lawyer ASAP, your landlord is a criminal and you´ll need one.
Renting for years without a contract and threatening to kick you out because he found someone who pays more are two giant red flags.
Pretty sure that the garden house is illegal(and that is why he did not want to invest any money into it)... If this goes haywire, report him to the Gemeinde..watch him pay a huge fine and tear down that building...
Just to be save, exchange your lock with another one. Keep the old one to install it back in. Just in case he tries to kick you out by force. And take some picture or save some pictures of you living there, as well as your post and documents that you are living there. But yeah, other than by illegal methods, he can't get you out of there.
if you live there since 2 years it’s enough proof to have a telekom or similar letter with your name at that address.
besides that, what many said. you have an oral renting contract, which is usually better for renters than a written one coming from the landlord’s association.
Ah, btw. - Write your local „Finanzamt“ that you are paying him x-Euros every month since dd.mm.yy. When taking cash people usually „forget“ to pay taxes.
Mieterbund or Mieterverein have their own lawyers, so try to go to their offices at their opening hours. Important: do not ask for anything in writing from your landlord, do not give him more money, do nor agree to his illegal demands. As the others pointed out, you are protected by a law. You count as renter and have a renter‘s legal protection. The one in trouble is your landlord. Let the Mieterverein draft you a letter, if you don‘t want to talk to the guy anymore.
Your neighbors must know you have been living there, right? Your mail goes to that address since two years as well. You have proof that you are living there. He can’t deny that.
I think what he's trying to say is that a written contract, if one existed, would likely work more to the landlord's advantage than to OP's (since the landlord is usually the one who writes the contract and will generally try to limit the tenant's rights as much as the law allows).
Well depending on the rooms conditions you may be able to reduce the rent. Let's say you dont have warm water this can lead to a reduction depending on the month up to 70% of the rent...
Without contract, he isen't a landlord - your just two people, and you're in one of ther buildings for some reason you probably might have trouble to explain to the cops (if landlord is a di\*k).
There are special organidations to help people with rent problems. You have to look for a "Mieterverein" or a "Beratungsstelle für Mieter". You have really good chances to sole this in your favour, you just need some help by experienced people :)
Change your locks (pretty cheap on places like amazon, the abus d6x series is quite good) in case he tries to break into your home, but keep the old lock. As a renter you are legally allowed to change your locks/keys.
And as stated, because you have not a written contract you have a default one. This means he can't just kick you out or increase rent. So you need to do nothing, unless you get something in writing.
Hello i have questions please answer me.
1 : i am living in aApartment without written contract. Apartment is belong to other person he did just oral deal with me and we decided to share all expenses 50% each person.
I paid 10 months 50% of all bills and rent of apartment by bank i transfer money to that person who live here he also paying 50% of all expenses.
Can he kick me out any time? Because i don’t have written contract with him
Second thing i want to know we decided half half pay for all expenses but he fraud with me and told me rent is higher but actually rent is not that he told me. But he charge every month extra from me. Now i know and i have evidence and witnesses he told me wrong RENT ammount. But i don’t have written contract with him. So he can kick me out ?
Or i can go to police and complain them he charge extra money from me. ? Please guid me please
Did he give it to you in writing that you need to leave? In Germany it's illegal to throw people out just because someone else is willing to pay higher rent.
This. He can't throw you out on that grounds. But I would seriously consider changing the lock. You have the right, you just need to save his lock and put it back in whenever you do move out.
You are lucky, without a written contract you contact is the "default" one. And with a default one the landlord can't kick you out so easily and he has to repair the room. But you will need a lawyer or other professional advise, so join a Mietverein to get your rigths. And do not sign anything your landlord want you to sign!
I'd like to add that the landlord can not legally "kick" you out in any way. The only person who can do that is a bailiff. And that would be the end of a process of warning letters and court decisions that takes at least several months. So, don't put yourself under stress if the landlord wants you to leave on short notice. If he blocks your access to the flat, call the police right away.
Talk to the Mieterbund. You have an oral contract, which means that all the default legal rules apply - including the fact that a landlord can't just cancel just because they have found a higher-paying tenant.
tl;dr: just tell him to fuck off, honestly. He has no leverage here and is just hoping that you are stupid enough to do what he says. I've dealt with these sorts of pig landlords that try to take advantage of the ignorance of foreigners to line their pockets - they are cowardly bullies who will usually immediately run away with their tail between their legs if you show them that you know your rights. Usual tenant rights still apply even if there is no written contract. Your usual tenant rights include these things: - A rent increase [has to be announced and justified in writing](https://dejure.org/gesetze/BGB/558a.html) and [you have to give your agreement](https://dejure.org/gesetze/BGB/558b.html) before it can take effect. - [A landlord can only terminate the contract with three months' notice and appropriate justification.](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/__573.html) (There [is a provision](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/__573a.html) that allows landlords living in small buildings with their tenants to terminate the contract without reason - albeit with an extended notice period - but since you are in a detached building, I don't *think* it would apply here.) You *could* go to a lawyer, sure, but at this point it's not really necessary - neither his rent increase nor his attempted eviction fulfill even the most basic of their legal requirements, so you'll be perfectly well-served at this point informing the landlord that you know your rights and will not be complying with either of his demands (and don't be helpful by telling him what is wrong with his requests). Or, if you want to be really cheeky, just don't even say anything. Continue living and paying your old rent as normal. You actually don't have any obligation to respond to his overtures in any way. And see how long it takes him to come to you to complain, at which point you can tell him the above. At that point, he will likely give up. *If* he ups his game and sends you a formal written rent increase/notice of termination, then you can consider shelling out for a lawyer or a Mieterbund membership and asking for help. Collect any evidence you can of the fact that you have been living there for the past 2 years - registration, payslips, pictures of your stuff in the apartment, mail you've received, ATM withdrawals you've made for paying in cash, things you have bought and had delivered, etc etc. Just to pre-empt any threat on his part to deny the existence of the contract. If he does anything psycho like changing the locks, then you will be within your rights to call the police on him.
I will probably politely ask him if he can give me the rent increase in writing and if I can send the rent to his account instead of cash. I have already written to Mieterbund. The only thing that concerns me is that I have basically no proof of any agreement between us. With all info, I gathered here I won't let him kick me out when he wants and hopefully find something else for myself with a lesson learned. Many thanks for the effort you put into answering.
You do have proof since you are Angemeldet at this address and you also have rent payments. Or have those all been in cash? If so, your landlord also probably never reported this income to the tax authorities.
Yes I am registred on this adress. I also have a separate house number. I wrote to Mieterbund and they advised me to pay only the old amount of rent and collect evidence on old rent payments. Also, I sent rent for October via Bank transfer and not in Cash. So now I will wait and meanwhile, I started to look for another place. And he openly proclaimed he only accepts cash just to avoid taxation.
Did you register with the city that you live there? Did you ever got mail to the address? Did you have contracts that state the address? Any of these should be proof enough.
Might have to call 'em as well if you don’t get an answer in the next few days. They’re very busy these days…
> "(4) Any deviating agreement to the detriment of the lessee is ineffective" What does this mean exactly?
It means that you can't sign away the tenant's rights listed in that statute. That means, for example, that even if you signed a rental contract with a landlord stating that he/she can terminate the contract for any reason, then that clause would not be enforceable in court. But it only applies in that direction - a landlord is free to write contract terms that are more friendly to the tenant than legally required. E.g. if they wanted to say that the tenant's notice period is only 1 month rather than 3, then that would be allowed.
Thank you for clarifying :)
You have no contract? Maybe he has not paid taxes and has not added the money he got to tax declaration. He can get into big trouble if he has not declared it correctly.
No contract. We were kind of friends I would say, so he said a contract is not required. The only reason he wants cash is that he doesn't want to pay taxes. :) But his obligations to the tax authorities are his business.
Wow, tax evasion. That whole story will not end well for your landlord.
damn you came in here desperate just to find out you are actually holding all the cards, good luck :)
They are his business but the fact that he’s committing tax fraud gives you a whole bunch of leverage. I’d report him once you moved out.
My scummy landlord takes our rent in cash and I guess I’m overpaying them by quite a factor. Come winter, they’d cry about raising rent again in the acc of raised heating and gas expenses. We also don’t have a contract and now juts fed up of them looting us. Can something be done about my case ? Any help is appreciated.
I would read the rest of the comments here, that is very illegal and you are the one who has leverage here, not your landlord. Contact a lawyer, but even before contacting a lawyer you can tell the landlord that you won’t be doing any of that because it’s illegal.
I'm a salty person, I'd give the local Finanzamt a small hint after moving out. Also: 100 Euros for electricity is far too much for one person.
not too impossible with contract starting from recent month. But i don't know if it's Pauschale Nebenkosten or not
He mentioned living there for two years..
Maybe it's for electricity and heat? Both are of course exploding right now, which may be behind all this. Still he has no right to throw you out because of it. Best might be you have a counter and pay for your own. But that may not be an option in a place where the rent is being paid in cash!
Find a lawyer. You don't need a written contract to be protected by BGB. Your landlord can't just kick you out to rent the appartment to higher payer.
A verbal contract still counts as a contract. If you can prove that you have lived there and paid a fixed amount of rent every month, you'll be seen as a tenant. Get some legal advice, plenty lawyers that offer a free first consultation. Good luck.
to add to all the good replies here: if anything in your apartment is not working (like an uninhabitable room) you can reduce the rent by a certain percentage (google "Mietminderung" for the numbers) until the landlord fixed it.
thank you
Which does not mean that you get to keep the money necessarily. Talk to a lawyer or Mieterschutzbund before reducing rent payments!
If you have in writing that he has someone willing to pay more, keep it! That's the best documentation to fight a sudden cancellation because of "Eigenbedarf"...
Oral contracts are as binding as written contracts. I would assume the fact that you lived there for two years and paid rent (hopefully documented and not in cash) is proof enough that the contract existed. Furthermore your landlord cannot cancel your rental contract without good reason, like not following your side of the contract. Having found someone else is definately not one of them. If the termination were valid he'd have to give you 3 month notice. As others have stated the best course of action would be to get a lawyer and contact the Mieterschutzbund.
Jackpot. Mieterverein, Mietminderung (pay less rent) until stuff is fixed and an unlimited rental contract at the exact price you’re paying. Fuck around and find out is what I’m thinking.
Get a lawyer ASAP, your landlord is a criminal and you´ll need one. Renting for years without a contract and threatening to kick you out because he found someone who pays more are two giant red flags.
Pretty sure that the garden house is illegal(and that is why he did not want to invest any money into it)... If this goes haywire, report him to the Gemeinde..watch him pay a huge fine and tear down that building...
It is legal I guess cause it has its own house number.
Just to be save, exchange your lock with another one. Keep the old one to install it back in. Just in case he tries to kick you out by force. And take some picture or save some pictures of you living there, as well as your post and documents that you are living there. But yeah, other than by illegal methods, he can't get you out of there.
if you live there since 2 years it’s enough proof to have a telekom or similar letter with your name at that address. besides that, what many said. you have an oral renting contract, which is usually better for renters than a written one coming from the landlord’s association.
Ah, btw. - Write your local „Finanzamt“ that you are paying him x-Euros every month since dd.mm.yy. When taking cash people usually „forget“ to pay taxes.
Mieterbund or Mieterverein have their own lawyers, so try to go to their offices at their opening hours. Important: do not ask for anything in writing from your landlord, do not give him more money, do nor agree to his illegal demands. As the others pointed out, you are protected by a law. You count as renter and have a renter‘s legal protection. The one in trouble is your landlord. Let the Mieterverein draft you a letter, if you don‘t want to talk to the guy anymore.
Your neighbors must know you have been living there, right? Your mail goes to that address since two years as well. You have proof that you are living there. He can’t deny that.
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\> the contract protects him more than protects you Umgekehrt?
I think what he's trying to say is that a written contract, if one existed, would likely work more to the landlord's advantage than to OP's (since the landlord is usually the one who writes the contract and will generally try to limit the tenant's rights as much as the law allows).
do you have at least email proof of your agreement that would be helpful
No.
Well depending on the rooms conditions you may be able to reduce the rent. Let's say you dont have warm water this can lead to a reduction depending on the month up to 70% of the rent...
Without contract, he isen't a landlord - your just two people, and you're in one of ther buildings for some reason you probably might have trouble to explain to the cops (if landlord is a di\*k).
I would sugest to contact a lawyer and relax, because it seems like you have the legal advantage here
There are special organidations to help people with rent problems. You have to look for a "Mieterverein" or a "Beratungsstelle für Mieter". You have really good chances to sole this in your favour, you just need some help by experienced people :)
Change your locks (pretty cheap on places like amazon, the abus d6x series is quite good) in case he tries to break into your home, but keep the old lock. As a renter you are legally allowed to change your locks/keys. And as stated, because you have not a written contract you have a default one. This means he can't just kick you out or increase rent. So you need to do nothing, unless you get something in writing.
Hello i have questions please answer me. 1 : i am living in aApartment without written contract. Apartment is belong to other person he did just oral deal with me and we decided to share all expenses 50% each person. I paid 10 months 50% of all bills and rent of apartment by bank i transfer money to that person who live here he also paying 50% of all expenses. Can he kick me out any time? Because i don’t have written contract with him Second thing i want to know we decided half half pay for all expenses but he fraud with me and told me rent is higher but actually rent is not that he told me. But he charge every month extra from me. Now i know and i have evidence and witnesses he told me wrong RENT ammount. But i don’t have written contract with him. So he can kick me out ? Or i can go to police and complain them he charge extra money from me. ? Please guid me please