Dear Trust7 experts,

I am in a big problem, after 8 years in Germany I decided to leave back home. I set my position to relocation to outside Germany and Europe from 31.08.12! I send my cancellations under Sonderkündigungsrecht due to this fact and every company accept!
They all accepted except my landlord who said that it is nonsense and please consider only cancellation 31.01.2014!!!
This is due to my contract which states a two-year cancellation period + 3 month. However, when I entered the apartment they told me it is not a valid condition and the 3 months apply every where.

Can you please tell me what to do ?

Best
Khaled

Hi Khaled,

it is not possible to give you 100% information without knowing your contract, but for private renting contracts in Germany there is a cancellation period of 3 month maximum. If something is written in your contract about 2 years, the whole contract is against the law and not valid.

Maybe there are some exceptions, f. e. if you made a contract for a fixed period, but this is not common in the private sector.

You should contact a 'Mieterschutz Verein' and ask them.

Here is a link where you can find your local Mieterschutz Verein:

http://www.mieterbund.de/

Good luck
Detlef

I have faced same kind of problem.
I was about to sign the contact which was written until 3 year+ 3 month. Luckly, one of my elder brother saw the clause & talked with a rechtanwat & he said if you signed the contact there is no way to quit.
As my landlord also said, its not a problem. I can easily quit in 3 months notice period. Then I asked him to remove the clause, but he refused & i also refuse to accept his condition.
I didnot see any hope but better to talk with a lawyer.
best wishes

Hello,

Thanks everyone for your reply. My contract "Mietzeit und Kuendigung" which has the following:

"1. Mietvertrag beginnt am 01.11.2011 and laueft auf unbestimmte Zeit.
2. Er ist fuer beide Parteien bis zum Ablauf von 24 Monaten seit Vertragsbeginn nich ordentlich kuendbar. Waehrend der Daur des Kuendigungsverzichtes gilt § 542 Bbs. 2 Nr. 1 BGB. Nach Ablauf der Verzichtszeit, erstmal also 24 Monate nach Vertragsbeginn, ist der Vertrag fuer beide Teile nach den gesetzlichen Regelungen unter Beachtung der gesetzliche Kuendigungsfristen kuendbar.
3. Fuer die ordentliche kundigung des Vermieters gelt im uebrig die im Gesetz geregelten Beschraenkungen. Das Recht zur ausserordentlichen befristeten und ausserordentlichen fristlosen Kuendigung richtet sich nach den gesetzlichen Bestimmungen."

This is all the important issue writen in my contract. The status is like that:
1- I lost my work contract in Germany (terminated 31.08)
2- I have a work contract in Egypt (01.09.12)
3- My wife (partner in the contract) has to return her work 01.09.12 (it is a must!!)
4- My kids lost their possition in the schools (after termination) and have schools their already.
5- I gave them a 3 month termination and the do not accept and gave me an appointment to give my appartment on 31.01.2014

I thought all of these issues are "Außerordentliche fristlose Kündigung aus wichtigem Grund" ...

I am in trap ! I do not wat to do!! either run away or give them a compensation.

Anyway, I am not intending to come to Germany again enough losing my money.

Thanks for every one like to help

Hi again,

try to find a follower, who rents your apartment.

This seems to be a solution. I also recommend to consult a lawyer, because I am not sure if this kind of contract is allowed for private rentings.

Detlef

Hi,
It seems Detlef's suggestion is the best way to go ahead. However I want to suggest one point as well if you want to use it.
Wehn you consult a lawyer, do ask him if you can sue the house owner for such exploitation contract as it is illegal to have such points as per law. This might make the house owner bit defensive then. However this suing might bring a good lesson for all expliting house owners in Germany. They know that a foreigner from Asis is looking for a flat and is in a hurry and so start putting such clauses which is in German and start exploiting.

But this is just a suggestion !!!

Regards

"nicht ordentlich kuendbar" but you arein a außerordentlich case... Go get yourself a lawyer and in case you decide to come back after, always read a contract 3 times before signing it. You got rights and you ought to know them...

D.

Hello,

Please do not worry. I also faced a similar situation in 2008 when I decided to leave germany suddenly due to some unforseeable circumstances. I remained in my apartment constantly for 8 years and I was myself worried about that. But fortunately I looked on internet where I found that in my case I can enjoy the right of "Kundigungsfrist" from 3 months. So I quoted the law in my letter to my landlord. But there came no objection and as per law I was able to leave my apartement with a three month notice.
In last four years I am no more updated about that law. So please check if there are not any changes in the law. But if there are no changes, then just give the "Kundigung" according to law. But if the landlord disagress then the option to consult a lawyer should be used.

I hope it helps.

Thank you really for your help and thanks for every one who replied!

"No_body", I sent them today another letter with: "Außerordentliche fristlose Kündigung aus wichtigem Grund"

I have also sent them a notice that I have AufentG § 18 Abs. 4 Nr. 1, which does not allow me to stay in Germany If I DO NOT HAVE A WORK!! It is also a German law, ain't it ?

Does anyone know a paragraph that says that all my issues are "Außerordentliche oder wichtigem Grunden".

The owner refused to call me until now and I have to call every time his secretary. She told me, the problem is that you who withdrawn the work contract and you are not fired !! They told me also that they would have accept it if I am fired!!!

Strange!

Now, it seems that they will show me their ugly face. I am not even dreaming to get my kaution.

Can any one tell me if they succeeded to get this case in front of the court and I was not in Germany, does this means that I will have a sentence, e.g., arrested at the boarders or trying to get it overseas ?

If they refused to receive the keys, what shall I do?

Best

Khaled

send your kids and your wife to your home town first.

next try to convince them about it , walk to their office and hand over the keys.

If they dont accept, simply throw the key in the house and leave.

But do your Abmeldung

They cannot stop you from leaving.

Even i signed contract blindly with Becker und Kries, they were very good to me when i left Germany.

Khaled,

do what they've told you here. Go to a lawyer or to a Mieterschutzveraign straight ahead. It'll cost you much less than paying what the landlord says and you'll probbaly get your caution back. No more you-you conversation wuth that people, let your layer send them the kündigung letter.

Cheers and best of lucks
Ari

Detlef,

Unfortunately up to 4 years of waver in the contract is considered to be legal.

Also außerordentliche kündigung seems to be only related to the apartment conditions and living conditions.

I am a fool to sign this condition. I have nothing more than praying now.

Thanks to every one who helped me.

Best

Khaled

Well,

I am sorry to read this. I guess you have consulted a lawyer!?

Again, try to find a follow tenant or discuss a compensation.

Good luck
Detlef

Hello,

I consulted those guys:

http://www.struif-partner.de/

My company will try to fire me in another letter to see if this would be enough or not.

They have an argument that I am not "forced" to go back home !

I think this is against human rights: especially, when I do not like my new city any more and I am fade up with people in the east looking to you as a foreigner

Best

Khaled

It could be far fetched, so don't take this as a legal advice, but do you know that a landlord can kick you out of an apartment if you don't pay your rent for 2 months? BGB §543 2.3

D.

NoBody,

You are perfectly correct !! I read that already in § 543 (which he did not refer correctly in the contract, but rather § 542 !!!) in BGB.

However, here at the company they told me this will be very critical as he may stop your last salary to reach him if he get to the court.

They said, he may also stop me at the borders!!!

I am not sure what to do, let me hear his last answer that he promised to give to my company, pray, and then escalate it farther with a lawyer.

"However, here at the company they told me this will be very critical as he may stop your last salary to reach him if he get to the court", in case he wants to go to court, in that case, you can always pretend you didn't understood the whole extend of the clause in the contract you signed and show to the court that you tried to get things done nicely from the get-go.

"They said, he may also stop me at the borders!!!", I sincerely doubt that.

"I am not sure what to do, let me hear his last answer that he promised to give to my company, pray, and then escalate it farther with a lawyer", let's wait then. But I'm sometimes pissed off by people who try to get advantage on such situations.

D.

Hay guys, I found something interesting

look, what is in the contract is:

"
1. Mietvertrag beginnt am 01.11.2011 and laueft auf unbestimmte Zeit.
2. Er ist fuer beide Parteien bis zum Ablauf von 24 Monaten seit Vertragsbeginn nich ordentlich kuendbar. Waehrend der Daur des Kuendigungsverzichtes gilt § 542 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 BGB. Nach Ablauf der Verzichtszeit, erstmal also 24 Monate nach Vertragsbeginn, ist der Vertrag fuer beide Teile nach den gesetzlichen Regelungen unter Beachtung der gesetzliche Kuendigungsfristen kuendbar.
"

(1) says that the contract is "unbestimmte Zeit"

However, (2) says that the cancellation is under: § 542 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 ... Which is only valid for limited contracts. See the low § 542

"§ 542
Ende des Mietverhältnisses

(1) Ist die Mietzeit nicht bestimmt, so kann jede Vertragspartei das Mietverhältnis nach den gesetzlichen Vorschriften kündigen.

(2) Ein Mietverhältnis, das auf bestimmte Zeit eingegangen ist, endet mit dem Ablauf dieser Zeit, sofern es nicht
1. in den gesetzlich zugelassenen Fällen außerordentlich gekündigt oder
2. verlängert wird.

"

What about that experts! an error in the contract ?

MFG

khaled

Hello Experts,

Anybody Home ???

best,
Khaled