No other EU country has as many people living in rented accommodation as Germany. One consequence of this is a highly detailed tenancy law. Only in very exceptional cases may a landlord terminate a tenant's contract without notice.
Everyone has the right to adequate housing. That is a human right. In practice, however, rent arrears, disturbance of domestic peace, unauthorised subletting or littering of the flat can lead to disputes and justify termination without notice.
The Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG, 21 July 2025, 1 BvR 1428/24) had to rule on a recent case from Bremerhaven. The tenant had been living in an apartment since 2001, which he ultimately had to vacate. He had caused a fire brigade call-out, during which the "catastrophic condition" of the apartment was discovered. After issuing a warning, the landlord terminated the tenancy agreement without notice, citing, among other things, dirtiness, littering and the delivery of the premises, as well as the threat of damage to the property.
The Bremerhaven Magistrates' Court ordered the tenant to vacate the flat. The tenant's appeal was rejected by the Bremen Regional Court. The tenant's representative then lodged a constitutional complaint. The Court of Appeal provisionally suspended enforcement of the eviction order. However, this did not ultimately prevent the tenant from being evicted from the flat.
Reason: The majority of the population cannot meet their housing needs through ownership and is therefore forced to rent living space. An apartment may therefore not be taken away from tenants without valid reasons. Personal ideas of what constitutes adequate housing may not be imposed on tenants. The tenants' right of possession and the landlord's right of ownership of the rented property must be weighed against each other. Ultimately, it was the argument of the threat of damage to the substance of the flat that tipped the scales. The flat could no longer be cleaned to the required standard. In addition, the tenant had already triggered a fire brigade call-out.
Photo: © Leo_65, Pixabay
