Termination due to misconduct by the tenant

What happens if the tenant always pays his rent on time and in full, but there are other disagreements between the landlord and the tenant? Means: Can a tenant be terminated for reasons other than default in payment?

I. Legal situation

According to the legal regulations, a contracting party can terminate the rental relationship with extraordinary notice for good cause . 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 .

The landlord can also (only) properly terminate a residential tenancy if he has a legitimate interest in the termination of the tenancy. A “legitimate interest” of the landlord in the termination of the tenancy exists in particular if the tenant has culpably violated his contractual obligations to a not insignificant extent.

II. Examples

Examples of such important reasons or breaches of duty by the tenant are – in addition to non-payment of the rent

• Noise nuisance (parties and / or excessive alcohol and drugs),
• excessive animal husbandry,
• Neglect / littering of the apartment (“messies”),
• Apartment prostitution,
• Overcrowding,
• Drug trafficking

III. Implementation

As a rule, it is urgently advisable to warn the tenant in writing in advance of one of the above mentioned breaches of duty before giving notice of the termination. The warning must describe the breach of duty as precisely as possible in order to give the tenant the opportunity to improve his behavior in order to be able to continue the tenancy.

In the termination for misconduct, it is also necessary to describe the breach of duty as precisely and in as much detail as possible. Such cases often end up in court, and the judge then has to decide whether the dismissal was justified or not. The court orients itself primarily on the grounds for the termination (and the previous warning).

The landlord must therefore be aware that an evacuation process that has been won often begins with the first warning.

IV. We support you

You notice: The termination of a tenancy due to misconduct by the tenant requires individual processing . A schematic evaluation is prohibited.

Do you want to terminate your tenant for one of the reasons mentioned above? Talk to us, we will be happy to advise you in such cases.