Termination of your flat without notice: grounds, deadlines, what to do now

Grounds for termination without notice (§ 543 BGB)

• Rent arrears: more than one month's rent outstanding on two consecutive due dates, or a total of two months' rent outstanding over a longer period (§ 543(2) no. 3 BGB). Unpaid service charges do not count.
• Disturbing the peace in the building: insults, threats or persistent noise that make living together in the building unreasonable (§ 569(2) BGB).
• Use in breach of the contract: subletting without permission, running a business from the flat or seriously damaging the property (§ 543(2) no. 2 BGB).
• Repeated late payment after the landlord has issued a written warning (Abmahnung).

Except for rent arrears, the landlord must first issue a written warning and set a deadline to put things right (§ 543(3) BGB). The notice must be in writing with a signature and must state the ground (§§ 568, 569(4) BGB). If any of these is missing, the notice is invalid.

What to do in the first days: the three most important steps

1. If you owe rent: pay the whole arrears. The grace period runs until two months after the eviction claim is served (§ 569(3) no. 2 BGB). Part payments are not enough. If you cannot pay, apply to the Jobcenter or the social welfare office (Sozialamt) to cover the debt; their written commitment also meets the deadline. This works once every two years.
2. Reject the notice in writing, do not move out. If the good cause, the warning, the signature or the stated ground is missing, the notice is invalid. If the letter also terminates “in the alternative with notice” (hilfsweise ordentlich), lodge a hardship objection against that notice (§ 574 BGB), in writing and no later than two months before the notice period ends.
3. Get legal advice before you sign anything. A tenants' association or a specialist tenancy lawyer will check the notice and reply to the landlord for you. Take the notice, your tenancy agreement, the warning letter and your bank statements with you.

What does termination without notice mean?

A termination without notice ends the tenancy immediately, without the statutory three-month notice period. The law calls it extraordinary termination for good cause (§ 543 BGB): continuing the tenancy must be unreasonable for the party giving notice. Both sides can use it, landlord and tenant alike. Because it goes so far, the bar is high, and many terminations without notice do not survive scrutiny.

When can the landlord terminate without notice?

The most common ground is rent arrears: more than one month's rent outstanding on two consecutive due dates, or arrears of two months' rent built up over a longer period (§ 543(2) no. 3 BGB). Other grounds are using the flat in breach of the contract and disturbing the peace in the building, specifically:

• repeated late payment after the landlord has issued a written warning
• subletting without permission
• running a business from the flat without consent
• persistent noise or a serious disturbance of the peace in the building
• serious damage to the flat

What does not count: amounts outstanding from a service charge statement are not rent arrears. If you have lawfully reduced the rent because of a defect, that is not a ground either.

Except for rent arrears, the landlord must first issue a written warning and set a deadline to put things right (§ 543(3) BGB). The notice itself must be in writing with a signature, must be addressed to all tenants and must state the ground (§ 569(4) BGB). If any of these is missing, the notice is invalid.

When can you as a tenant terminate without notice?

You may also terminate without notice if you cannot reasonably be expected to go on living in the flat (§ 543(1), § 569(1) BGB): if the flat poses a serious health risk, such as heavy mould, if you are denied the use of all or part of the flat, or if the landlord enters the flat without permission or persistently disturbs the peace in the building. The same rule applies here: first a written warning with a deadline, then the notice, and keep evidence of the grounds.

How long do you have to move out after a termination without notice?

There is no statutory move-out deadline. The landlord names a date in the letter, usually two weeks away. That date is not binding: you only have to move out once a court has confirmed the notice and issued an eviction order. To get one, the landlord must file an eviction claim; the proceedings usually take several months.

If the tenant loses, the court can grant a period to vacate, in cases of particular hardship up to one year (§ 721 ZPO, Code of Civil Procedure). Until then the flat remains your flat; the landlord may not cut off the electricity or change the locks.

What to do in the first days after a termination without notice?

1. Do not move out, do not sign anything. A notice is not an eviction. Do not confirm anything and do not leave voluntarily before the notice has been checked.
2. Check the letter. In writing with a signature? Addressed to all tenants? Ground stated? Warning issued beforehand? If anything is missing, the notice is invalid. Reply in writing that you reject the notice, and name the defect.
3. If you owe rent: pay the whole arrears immediately. Within the grace period (two months after the eviction claim is served), payment in full makes the termination without notice invalid. Instalments or part payments are not enough. If you cannot pay, apply to the Jobcenter or the social welfare office to cover the rent debt; their written commitment also meets the grace period.
4. Check whether notice was also given with a notice period. If the letter says “in the alternative with notice” (hilfsweise ordentlich), a second termination with a three-month notice period is running alongside, and paying the arrears does not remove it. You can lodge a hardship objection against that one (next section).
5. Get legal advice. A tenants' association or a specialist tenancy lawyer will check the notice and handle the reply to the landlord.

Can I object to a termination without notice?

The hardship objection, for pregnancy, old age, serious illness or an imminent exam, is only available by law against ordinary termination with notice (§ 574 BGB). It does not help against a valid termination without notice.

What does help against a termination without notice is its invalidity: no good cause, no prior warning, a formal defect, or payment of the arrears within the grace period. You raise this in writing and, if the landlord sues, in court. If the landlord has also terminated in the alternative with notice, lodge the hardship objection against that notice, in writing and no later than two months before the notice period ends (§ 574b BGB).

If the termination without notice rests on a genuine and documented ground, your chances are slim. Then agreeing a period to vacate and an orderly move-out is often the better route.

Frequently asked questions about termination without notice