The renovation lie: why Olga got her deposit back even though she did not redecorate after moving out
Many landlords demand that the flat is handed back freshly decorated when the tenant moves out. But the clauses on this in tenancy agreements are often invalid. That was the case for Olga M., who moved from Stuttgart to Munich. Her old landlady simply wanted to keep the deposit and use it to redecorate the flat. Olga M. knew full well that her landlady was breaking the law. Despite her persistent attempts to get her money back herself, the landlady only budged once Olga brought in CONNY.
What were the flat and the landlady in Stuttgart like?
I found the flat the classic way, on ImmobilienScout24, and went to a group viewing. The next day the landlady called and offered me the flat because I had made the best impression on her. I took the flat over unrenovated from the previous tenants and got their kitchen in return. Everything with the landlady was always fine: we got on well, communication worked, and she paid the bills for repairs that were her responsibility as landlady.
You gave notice to move to Munich. How did the handover of the flat go?
Everything was straightforward. The new tenants took the flat over from me unrenovated too, and got the kitchen in return. The landlady came to the handover, looked at everything, said “OK, all fine”, noted down my new address and my bank details, and said she would send me the previous year's service charge statement and transfer my deposit. Then nothing happened…
How did you follow up?
She is an elderly lady who does not use email, so I kept calling and leaving messages on her answerphone. During the tenancy that worked perfectly and she always called back – now she didn't. I even called the new tenants because I thought something might have happened to her, but when they told me they were in regular contact with her, it was clear that I was simply being ignored on purpose.
What was your first reaction?
I assumed straight away that it was unjustified, because the cosmetic repairs section of my contract contains fixed periods that set out how much you have to pay on moving out, depending on how many years have passed since the last repairs. I had heard on a consumer programme that a clause like that is invalid.
What did you do next?
In spring 2019 I wrote one more really stern letter, set a deadline and threatened to get a lawyer. After that, half the deposit – 750 euros – was transferred to me. My former landlady wrote that she was keeping the other half for cosmetic repairs that still had to be done.
How did you come to bring in CONNY?
CONNY was a lucky find for me. I actually didn't want to get a lawyer involved at all, because I thought the costs would eat up what was left of my deposit. But it was also clear to me straight away that I would not manage to get the rest of my money back on my own – my ex-landlady had been ignoring me for two years. At first glance I thought CONNY's site was only about rent reductions, but then I was pleased to see that fighting off cosmetic repairs was on offer too.
Did you have any concerns about entering your data in our portal?
Not really. I had already had good experiences with other portals – I sold my car through one and got compensation for a delayed flight through another.
How did it end?
I signed a power of attorney, sent a few documents, and a few weeks later my former landlady transferred the rest of my deposit. At last the thing that had been bugging me for two years was off my plate. For that, I found the fee of 249 euros really fair.
Cosmetic repairs: the key facts
1. Fitted cupboards and parquet: Cosmetic repairs a landlord may validly demand include painting the walls and ceilings, the radiators including heating pipes, the interior doors and their frames, and the windows and external doors from the inside. If the tenancy agreement says the tenant must also paint fitted cupboards, sand the parquet and reseal it, that goes too far and makes the whole clause invalid. Wording that windows and doors must be painted also topples the whole clause, because tenants only have to paint them from the inside.
2. Unrenovated on moving in: Under a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), tenants who were handed the flat unrenovated when they moved in are not obliged to carry out cosmetic repairs when they move out, unless the landlord gave them reasonable financial compensation for the unrenovated condition.
3. Pro-rata cost clause (Quotenabgeltungsklausel): This clause makes the tenant pay a share of the estimated cost of redecorating on moving out, even if redecorating is not yet necessary. The share is fixed rigidly by the number of years since the last redecoration – for example 40 per cent if the work was 2 years ago, 60 per cent after 3 years, and so on. According to the BGH, this is a financial burden set in advance by the landlord that the tenant cannot properly estimate or quantify beforehand, and it topples the entire obligation to carry out cosmetic repairs.