GDR rental agreements can be terminated for personal use according to BGB

A landlord can terminate an old GDR tenancy agreement for an indefinite period even against the will of the tenant on the grounds of personal use, according to a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH). The termination is subject to the provisions of the German Civil Code (BGB) and not the stricter requirements of the former civil code of the GDR, ruled the highest German civil court in Karlsruhe (case no. VIII ZR 15/23).

The specific case involved a landlord who wanted to have an apartment in former East Berlin evicted due to personal use. The tenants relied on the tenancy agreement concluded in 1990, which, based on the GDR law in force at the time, stipulated that the tenancy could only be terminated by agreement between the contracting parties, termination by the tenant or by judicial annulment.

Local court upholds GDR regulation

The Berlin Regional Court had dismissed the action in the lower court. It held that the original contractual GDR regulation was still valid. The landlord could only terminate the tenancy for personal use if he "urgently" needed the apartment for socially justified reasons. However, this was not the case here, according to the court.

The Karlsruhe Senate did not follow this assessment. The requirements for a termination for personal use are therefore determined solely by the provisions of the German Civil Code. The legislator had regulated this completely and conclusively in a transitional provision. Termination is therefore possible if the landlord requires the rooms as accommodation for himself, his family members or members of his household.