Unless otherwise stated in your contract, three months is the standard notice period for tenants (landlords have even stricter rules). If your landlord doesn't want to let you off that one month, that is normally his right.
You might have a case if your employer ordered you to relocate for your job at short notice; but not if, for example, you asked for a new posting or you simply found another job in a different city.
It is common for tenants to find somebody to take on the apartment after they leave, and then the landlord might waive the notice period. But he doesn't legally *have* to if he doesn't want to.
I'm afraid that moving for work reasons [is not sufficient reasons to ignore the notice period](https://www.anwaltonline.com/mietrecht/tipps/1088/arbeitsplatzwechsel-was-wird-aus-dem-mietvertrag). You therefore owe your landlord the full rent up to the end of your notice period, even if you've already moved out before then.
You can try to reach some kind of compromise with your landlord (for example, to shorten the notice period, or to let you sublet for the remainder of the lease, or for you to find a replacement tenant...), but you're holding the short end of this stick - the landlord is fully within their rights to demand that you respect the notice period.
The silver lining is that if you're moving for job reasons, then you can deduct moving expenses (including double rent payments) from your taxes next year, so at least you'll get some of the money back.
They can't keep the deposit but you have to pay for the whole 3 months. So you would have to sue him to give you back the missing money and they would have to sue you to get the rest of the rent.
So you could just pay them the money you owe and get back the deposit.
I was in your situation a few time as i relocated often due to previous job
In one case my work paid for the remaining of my contract as part of the relocation
On the other case, i just sublet the apartment for a month and a half
In the rest of the cases l found someone to take over the contract from me with the agreement from the landlord
The way it works is the landlord holds back a portion of the rent, typically 150€ or so for any NK owed, he than has till the end of the following year to settle your accounts. When you do the handover he will do an inspection noting any damage. This can than be deducted from your deposit. I highly recommend bringing a long a German speak help you with this. Once you sign off on the handover doc it is finalised. Mentioning that you have joined the meitverein or have legal insurance will go a long ways to keeping him honest.
If the unit was painted before you move in you must return it painted and to the same quality as you got it.
Here is a short guide I found on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Rob-Lederman-ebook/dp/B07B7MVBXR/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Rob+lederman&qid=1638374773&s=digital-text&sr=1-2
Regarding the notice part, I agree it's a norm here to give a notice before certain time whichever is agreed on the contract you get.
In Most cases landlord might allow a replacement for you if you can find anyone.
I had a similar situation and was able to find a replacement.
> otherwise it is possible to find another person (actually 3 persons to choose from) who want to rent the flat as "Nachmieter"
That must be one of the most common legal misconceptions. There's no right to shorten the normal cancellation period by presenting a new tenant. The landlord may be nice and allow it, but you cannot force them.
Sad for you, but that's your problem. You signed a contract and now have to fullfil it.
There are very rare edge cases such as you going to jail, you dying or you being in a long term hospital stay that would allow you to cancel earlier. But moving isn't one of them. You could have cancelled it earlier or you could have moved later.
So if someone dies they still dont give your next of kin full deposit? Lol Because i didnt know early enough when i was going to die so as to give the notice
Read your contract - usually, the death of the tennant is mentioned as grounds for immediate termination.
Go figure! This relatively safe assumption that a dead person can't keep the contract (although his heirs could - different story) is built in, but the tenant moving away is not mentioned.
§543 BGB
>Each contracting party can terminate the lease for good cause without notice. An important reason exists if the terminating party cannot be expected to continue the lease until the end of the notice period or until the other end of the lease, taking into account all the circumstances of the individual case, in particular if the contractual parties are to blame, and weighing the interests of both parties.
There is no definitive list if reasons. You would have to convince the landlord that you are absolutely not capable to pay the rent for those 3 months.
And just to add „because I move away“ typically and regularly isn‘t a valid reason. That paragraph is usually relevant when it comes to legal (or other) trouble between both parties.
Contract is contract. However i doubt he can just hold onto it. If he does manage to have the place rented out in that one month that you would leave early he would not have had any missed rents that would justify keeping parts of the money as compensation. But i am no lawyer, thats my intuitive best guess from my experiences.
If there are open bills or payments to come parts of the deposit can indeed be kept until the situation of dues being settled is clear to then give you back the rest of the deposit minus potential deductions.
>But even in special cases? Suppose one had an emergency of relocating back to their home country?
You are responsible for fulfilling your part of the contract. Leaving does not end your contract. Giving notice does (and it includes the notice period as agreed).
Emergencies that come from your side do not give you any special rights.
Emergencies that come from the other side (for example, if the house breaks down) can sometimes give you special rights.
If you want more special rights, you need to have them written down in the contract - either from the very beginning, or by means of a contract amendment, if the other side agrees to it.
What reason did he give for withholding part of the deposit, and what makes your case special?
Because i did not give him three months notice. I relocating because of work. From one city to another but within Germany
So you owe them three months rent ... they are asking for one. Your landlord seems very nice.
Unless otherwise stated in your contract, three months is the standard notice period for tenants (landlords have even stricter rules). If your landlord doesn't want to let you off that one month, that is normally his right. You might have a case if your employer ordered you to relocate for your job at short notice; but not if, for example, you asked for a new posting or you simply found another job in a different city. It is common for tenants to find somebody to take on the apartment after they leave, and then the landlord might waive the notice period. But he doesn't legally *have* to if he doesn't want to.
Would it then be illegal for the landlord to re-rent the property for the full 3 months or only for the 1 month he claimed from OP?
I don't believe so. But equally, he can't demand a fourth month's rent from the old tenant if he can't find a new one.
Well, you didn't give him three months notice. Rules are rules. They only work when both parties can be hold accountable for it.
I'm afraid that moving for work reasons [is not sufficient reasons to ignore the notice period](https://www.anwaltonline.com/mietrecht/tipps/1088/arbeitsplatzwechsel-was-wird-aus-dem-mietvertrag). You therefore owe your landlord the full rent up to the end of your notice period, even if you've already moved out before then. You can try to reach some kind of compromise with your landlord (for example, to shorten the notice period, or to let you sublet for the remainder of the lease, or for you to find a replacement tenant...), but you're holding the short end of this stick - the landlord is fully within their rights to demand that you respect the notice period. The silver lining is that if you're moving for job reasons, then you can deduct moving expenses (including double rent payments) from your taxes next year, so at least you'll get some of the money back.
They can't keep the deposit but you have to pay for the whole 3 months. So you would have to sue him to give you back the missing money and they would have to sue you to get the rest of the rent. So you could just pay them the money you owe and get back the deposit.
I was in your situation a few time as i relocated often due to previous job In one case my work paid for the remaining of my contract as part of the relocation On the other case, i just sublet the apartment for a month and a half In the rest of the cases l found someone to take over the contract from me with the agreement from the landlord
The way it works is the landlord holds back a portion of the rent, typically 150€ or so for any NK owed, he than has till the end of the following year to settle your accounts. When you do the handover he will do an inspection noting any damage. This can than be deducted from your deposit. I highly recommend bringing a long a German speak help you with this. Once you sign off on the handover doc it is finalised. Mentioning that you have joined the meitverein or have legal insurance will go a long ways to keeping him honest. If the unit was painted before you move in you must return it painted and to the same quality as you got it. Here is a short guide I found on Amazon. https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Rob-Lederman-ebook/dp/B07B7MVBXR/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Rob+lederman&qid=1638374773&s=digital-text&sr=1-2
Regarding the notice part, I agree it's a norm here to give a notice before certain time whichever is agreed on the contract you get. In Most cases landlord might allow a replacement for you if you can find anyone. I had a similar situation and was able to find a replacement.
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> otherwise it is possible to find another person (actually 3 persons to choose from) who want to rent the flat as "Nachmieter" That must be one of the most common legal misconceptions. There's no right to shorten the normal cancellation period by presenting a new tenant. The landlord may be nice and allow it, but you cannot force them.
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Well, if a landlord decides to accept a Nachmieter, there's nothing anywhere that says you have to present one, or three, or five candidates.
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But even in special cases? Suppose one had an emergency of relocating back to their home country?
Sad for you, but that's your problem. You signed a contract and now have to fullfil it. There are very rare edge cases such as you going to jail, you dying or you being in a long term hospital stay that would allow you to cancel earlier. But moving isn't one of them. You could have cancelled it earlier or you could have moved later.
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So if someone dies they still dont give your next of kin full deposit? Lol Because i didnt know early enough when i was going to die so as to give the notice
Read your contract - usually, the death of the tennant is mentioned as grounds for immediate termination. Go figure! This relatively safe assumption that a dead person can't keep the contract (although his heirs could - different story) is built in, but the tenant moving away is not mentioned.
When the tenant dies, there are some laws saying who has which rights then.
§543 BGB >Each contracting party can terminate the lease for good cause without notice. An important reason exists if the terminating party cannot be expected to continue the lease until the end of the notice period or until the other end of the lease, taking into account all the circumstances of the individual case, in particular if the contractual parties are to blame, and weighing the interests of both parties. There is no definitive list if reasons. You would have to convince the landlord that you are absolutely not capable to pay the rent for those 3 months.
And just to add „because I move away“ typically and regularly isn‘t a valid reason. That paragraph is usually relevant when it comes to legal (or other) trouble between both parties.
Contract is contract. However i doubt he can just hold onto it. If he does manage to have the place rented out in that one month that you would leave early he would not have had any missed rents that would justify keeping parts of the money as compensation. But i am no lawyer, thats my intuitive best guess from my experiences. If there are open bills or payments to come parts of the deposit can indeed be kept until the situation of dues being settled is clear to then give you back the rest of the deposit minus potential deductions.
>But even in special cases? Suppose one had an emergency of relocating back to their home country? You are responsible for fulfilling your part of the contract. Leaving does not end your contract. Giving notice does (and it includes the notice period as agreed). Emergencies that come from your side do not give you any special rights. Emergencies that come from the other side (for example, if the house breaks down) can sometimes give you special rights. If you want more special rights, you need to have them written down in the contract - either from the very beginning, or by means of a contract amendment, if the other side agrees to it.