Temporary lease
A temporary lease is a lease that is concluded for a predetermined period of time, whereby ordinary termination of the lease before this period has expired is excluded or restricted.
Germany
Since the rental law reform in 2001, temporary rental contracts are only permitted for special reasons (so-called qualified temporary rental contracts ). Temporary leases may be concluded if the landlord has one of the following three reasons for terminating the lease at the end of the lease period:
- own use
- Demolition or renovation of the rented apartment
- Use as a work apartment
The specific reason and the period of the rental agreement must be recorded in writing in the rental agreement. If this is not the case or if there is no sufficient reason for a temporary lease, the lease is deemed to have been concluded for an indefinite period. ( Section 575 (1) BGB) It is not permitted to change the reason for the fixed term while a temporary lease is in progress. There has not been an upper time limit for a temporary lease since 2001.
If the original reason no longer applies after the temporary lease has been concluded, the tenant can request that the lease be continued for an indefinite period. If the reason for the fixed term is delayed, the tenant can accordingly request an extension of the fixed-term rental contract. The burden of proof for the occurrence of the limitation reason lies with the landlord. ( Section 575 (3) BGB) The tenant can request information from the landlord no earlier than four months before the expiry of the fixed-term rental contract as to whether the reason for the fixed term still exists; if the landlord does not provide the information within one month, the tenant can request an extension of the fixed-term rental contract for the period in which the landlord is in default. ( Section 575 (2) BGB)
A rent increase during an ongoing temporary lease is only permitted if the landlord has expressly reserved the option of increasing the rent in the temporary lease.
Ordinary termination of the fixed-term lease is legally excluded , unless otherwise agreed in the lease ( Section 575a BGB). Even if the temporary lease is subsequently declared to be ineffective because there is no sufficient reason for the time limit, the tenant and landlord are still bound to the originally agreed period. The tenant is not entitled to any protection against dismissal when the temporary rental contract expires; he must vacate the apartment immediately on the day the temporary rental contract expires.
Certain rental contracts can generally be concluded as fixed-term rental contracts without a reason, for example for rental contracts for apartments in student dormitories ( Section 549 (3) BGB) or apartments that are only rented for temporary use, such as holiday apartments ( Section 549 (2) BGB).
Individual evidence
- ^ BGH, judgment of December 11, 2013, AZ VIII ZR 235/12
Web links
- Temporary lease with Finanztip