Sublease terminated by landlord and sub-landlord

Hi Toytowners,

I desperately need your help and advice! Today I received a letter from the sub-landlord that the rental contract will terminate and that I will have to call the owner of the building for a new contract. The sub-landlord basically rents a cafe and a nearby apartment from the owner. When I called the owner, he refused to discuss much with me, other than the fact that he will not have a new contract with me and that I should leave 31 January!

I really cannot understand what I did wrong since I am paying the rent on time and doing the Kehrwoche (even though 2 times I was one week late cos I was out of the country, but never passed it on without doing my share).

The owner said someone complained about me not doing the Kehrwoche but when I asked who it was cos I didnt believe him, he would not tell me the name.

The thing is he hated me from day one, said I should not be living here if I spoke no German. Then someone threw the Gelbesack too early
outside and he told the neighbour to tell me to stop doing that. I was not the one who did that but since I was the newest to the building, all the blame fell on me. He also claims that I do not know how to separate the trash but I have been doing that for 6 months prior to
moving here!! The best part of it was that he never ever told me any of the things he said. I always hear it from someone else.

I'm really scared. I think he will really throw me out in the middle of winter. At first I thought the cafe owner, did not want to be the middleman (since the owner complains to him all the time) and that I should have the contract with the owner directly but now the latter doesnt want to give me a new contract. When I told him he has no grounds to get me to leave, he claims that I have no rights as a foreigner and that he will say he wants to hire a new Hausmeister who will need to stay at my place. Currently he is the Hausmeister, and even I think it is reason enough unfortunately.

I did alot of things to the house to make it comfortable. And I wouldnt have done it if I knew he was gonna kick me out in 7 months!

I'm attaching parts of the contract that are relevant. Maybe one of you can help me read the contract quickly to see if he has a right to
throw me out if he gives me 3 months' notice?? Does it say anywhere that I can say no in writing or something?? And if so, ho much time do I have? Do the renters here have no rights at all?

Is there something I can do? I also had to pay the vormieter hundreds of euros for to offset some renovation he did many years ago and I do not think this would have gone down well with someone who just renovated the flat no?

Someone please help!! Is there any government office of some kind that this can be brought to if he keeps his stand? Thanks in advance.

File 2 of Contract

File 3 of Contract

Thanks for your help.

i dont speak german so cant help,but if hes going to give your deposit back and you have 3 months ,start looking .

First of all your contract is with the sub-landlord, what his landlord thinks or does has not much to do with you.
The only difference to a regular contract is that your contract automatically ends when his contract ends. If this is not the case the sub-landlord can't do much to evict you his landlord can do even less.

If you pay your rent the only other valid reason for a termination of your contract is the so called "Eigenbedarfskündigung" Eigenbedarf (Mietrecht) (Wikipedia) (means he needs it himself and that's probably what he's trying to do). But rules about that are really strict and a hausmeister who happens to look for an apartment is surely not ok.

What you should do is get in touch with the Mieterverein they'll give you legal advice and and please also read http://www.toytowngermany.com/wiki/Apartment_rental_problems

Oh and btw you probably also got ripped off if you paid for renovation.

Hi, thanks for the links I will check them out. The renovation cost was not much, about a month's rent and there was no usual 2-month agent fees and the location's good so that's worth it. Let's hope things work out.

Hope you can get this solved... getting legal advice is best (sooner...not later). I might be able to get some advice from some legal counsel...if I can, I will let you know. Have a great weekend.

look stop crapping yourself.He has to give you 3 months written warning.Not verbally.Eigenbedarf means for himself or family members.Ifhe already has a place to live that is not rented then he is up the creek.If he moves someone else in then you can claim all your moving costs off him.
You do not have a contrct with the owner you are sub letting which means the leaser has to deal with you.Keep on paying your rent and start looking for a new place.You do not need all this hassle

I only received a letter from the sub landlord stating that his contract with me ends because his Hauptvertrag ended too. The owner has yet to give me a letter and I have only confronted him on the phone. Should I ask him for a letter even though I think he thinks he has already gotten the message across??

Yeah I dont need all this hassle, but trust me I dont need the hassle of repacking everything and moving either. I have no problems at all to move had I defaulted on rent payment etc, but to try to chase me out on that lame excuse is just incredible. I dont think he will try that on a German who would know his rights.

Is there nothing in the laws that protect tenants, that tenants in a sub-lease contract should know about the duration of the main contract? That would not be right if someone had renovated the whole flat only to be asked to leave cause he had a change of mind.

He claims he is looking for a new Hausmeister and yet the existing one stays on. I am also concerned that even if he grudgingly allows me to stay after I mention a lawyer or the Mietebund, that he would jack up the rent to an enormous sum. Would I get a recourse then if he increased my rent after I refused to leave when he wants me to?

Anyone has any experience with the Mietebund? Will they help with letters to the landlord even though you have not been a member for 6 months? I am reading contradicting info from different places. I am guessing that they speak some English? Do you need to ake an appointment to go there since I would need to get time off work?

Thanks in advance.

did you have a look at their homepage?


the 6 months waiting period is just for the legal insurance, so if it goes to court you'll have to pay for that by yourself, but they will still give you advice.
they're open Monday through Thursday from 8 to 6pm and on Monday until 8pm, you should try to make an appointment, but I guess if you go there on Monday early in the morning that's ok as well.

And your landlord can only increase the rent by 20% per 3 year frame with a 2 months notice period, so don't worry about that.

uh, looked at the wrong page, in reutlingen they're open from 8:30

http://www.mieterbund-rt-tue.de/
Untere Gerberstr. 6
72764 Reutlingen
Mo - Do 8.30 - 12.00 Uhr
14.00 - 17.00 Uhr
Freitags 8.30 - 12.00 Uhr

I honestly don't see what the problem is. Your contract states:


So, your contract is dependent on the main contract your sub-landlord has with the Landlord. If the Sub-Landlord's contract ends, no matter for what reason, so does your contract (without exception).

Additionally, you have been given the required three months notice in written form.

This is a normal procedure. It is perfectly legal and the Landlord is under no obligation whatsoever to rent his apartment out to you. Your Sub-Landlord probably only suggested it as a possibility, but if the Landlord doesn't want to do it (for whatever reason), he doesn't have to. It's his apartment, afterall, and you don't have any written agreement with the Landlord.

So, find yourself a new apartment. 3 months is certainly enough lead time!

You only have a contract with the sub landlord. The owner is under no obligation to write you a letter because you effectively have nothing to do with him and no Vertrag with him. The person you should be dealing with is the sub landlord, who has given you three months cancellation notice (in writing) according to your contract.

It would probably be advisable to stop bothering the owner. He has nothing to do with it!

I understand what you are saying. But shouldn't either of them inform me that the contract will end 7 months after I move in?? If not what happens when I renovate the apartment over and then be asked to move out? Surely there must be some law stating that the tenant be informed of this??

Hi,

I found this which seemed to be relevant but upon translating it, it doesn't really make sense. Can someone please translate it for me? Thank you.

------------------------------------------

Mieterkündigung - Untermiete:

Verweigert der Vermieter seine Erlaubnis zur Untervermietung der gesamten Wohnung, kann der Mieter mit einer Frist von drei Monaten kündigen. Es sei denn, der vorgeschlagene Untermieter ist dem Vermieter nicht zumutbar.

Kündigungsschutz

Zieht der Mieter nach Ablauf der Kündigungsfrist nicht aus, darf der Vermieter die Räumung der Wohnung nicht "auf eigene Faust" veranlassen, er muss vor Gericht auf Räumung klagen. In diesem Prozess wird die Vermieterkündigung auf ihre Berechtigung hin geprüft, und Gegenrechte des Mieters werden berücksichtigt.

Das wichtigste Gegenrecht des Mieters ist das Widerspruchsrecht nach der Sozialklausel. Auch bei einer berechtigten Vermieterkündigung kann der Mieter wohnen bleiben, wenn er sich auf Härtegründe berufen kann, die schwerer wiegen als das Kündigungsinteresse des Vermieters.

Besonderheiten gibt es auch bei Untermietverhältnissen und in Jugend- oder Studentenwohnheimen, bei möblierten Zimmern. Aber auch in Einliegerwohnungen bzw. Zwei-Familienhäusern, in denen der Vermieter mitwohnt. Hier darf der Vermieter auch kündigen, wenn er sich auf keinen der im Gesetz genannten Gründe berufen kann.

I don't really understand what you're trying to fight against. You signed a contract and agreed to the terms of the contract. One term of the contract was that your Untermietvertrag runs out at the same time as the Hauptmietvertrag. You have been given the legal 3 months notice. It was your choice to "renovate" the apartment.

I honestly don't see you having any legal right to fight the Kündigung. You did, after all, sign the contract. That means you agreed to it!

Obviously, there are not any legal experts or lawyers in this forum (including myself). So, although some people might say give up... move on, etc. I would not give up until I know I have no other choice. There are many laws that protect renters to include eviction from an apartment/house. My advice is to continue what you are doing and get "real" legal advice and at the same time look for another place to live. From your posts, I imagine you are doing both these things already. It is easy for people to give advice to just accept the situation when they don't have to live it. But, it is different when these things impact you (or them).

Good luck, I hope whatever situation is best for you... happens. ciao...

Go to the mietverein and take his foreigner hating ass to court!

*get some friends who do speak German to have a long talk with him too!

Hi sunset_gal,

You should check if the main contract states that the sub landlord can even sub lease in the first place, because if he cannot sub lease, that means your contract is also not valid.

Hi Toytowners,

does anyone of you know how the law handles fraud in Germany? Not sure if she can claim for damages from the sub landlord since effectively you were led into believing he can sub lease, thus causing all this undue distress, etc.

Of course he can come back and say he defaulted on his contract but since the owner is not faulting him for it, you can't too. Just a thought.

The way I understand it, both - the owner and the landlord - agree to terminate contract. In that case the landlord hands his 3 months notice to the owner and the sublease terminates automatically as well. If that's the case I guess there is not much you can do.
That's a problem with subletting (shared flats, ..) everyone should be aware of.

Just an update for those who are interested.

I had a quick talk with the principal tenant and found out he agreed cos he did not want any trouble with the owner on the other contract for his cafe. Then it kinda slipped out that he thinks also he actually was not allowed to sub lease but the owner had not said anything about the guy who lived there for 2 years before me, if that was the case.

Had a friend called the owner but he stood his ground with wanting to give the apt to a Hausmeister. He said that the principal tenant was not allowed to sub lease.

So I went with this info to the DMB. We were talking about writing a letter to the principal tenant to ask for the main contract but of course he could say no. But if really he wasnt supposed to sub lease and yet he did, then he would have to pay for damages.

He also informed me that the owner will not be allowed to come into my house without a court order. And he also suggested that I could come back in mid Jan if I cant find a similar place to live and he could write another letter to ask for another 2 to 3 months or so.

I hope this is what I understood correctly since we were communicating in half English, half German!

Let's see if he gets a hold of the main contract but it does not look hopeful...