Everyone should fight back against excessive rents
E.K. now saves 390 euros a month!
Verdict: CONNY was a real help, because I didn't have time to deal with it myself. Everyone should fight back against excessive rents. If you don't do it for yourself, you should at least do it for the tenants who come after you. There is no risk involved either, because you don't pay anything if it doesn't succeed in the end.
What was your problem, and how did you find out about us?
I was paying far too much rent for my flat, and my landlord was not prepared to come to an agreement.
It may surprise you, but I first heard about wenigermiete / CONNY at the tenants' association. When the lawyer there told me they couldn't support me in court proceedings because I had only just become a member, I asked how else I could enforce my rights. He first advised me to apply for legal aid. Later he mentioned wenigermiete.de / conny.legal!
Since I was in the middle of my master's degree and didn't have time to deal with it properly, I looked up wenigermiete.de / conny.legal. It wasn't long before I first called you and later signed the contract with you.
What concerns did you have before you instructed us? Were you afraid of confronting your landlord, for example? What helped you overcome your concerns, and what became of your fears?
I had serious concerns about confronting my landlord with this. On the one hand, I had actually entered into this tenancy agreement with him on these terms (pacta sunt servanda), and on the other hand, I didn't know how he would react or whether he might try to get me out of the flat. Later I realised that I had only signed the contract because I had no other choice, not of my own free will. The rent brake (Mietpreisbremse) may be an interference with freedom of contract, but it is also justified and it serves a purpose. That purpose would have been defeated if I had paid the excessive rent for 12 months and the next tenant had then been unable to rely on the rent brake because of it. I summoned up all my courage and, with a clear conscience, objected to the rent.
Are you paying too much rent, too?
how much rent you could save.
How did the process go for you, and how much rent were you able to save?
The best part was that I didn't have to take care of anything. :) I simply had to wait. Now and then the wenigermiete / CONNY team emailed me questions about a few details, which I could easily answer by email without spending much time. In the end, a settlement was reached with the landlord. I "save" 390 euros a month.
What is your verdict on your experience with us? What would you like to pass on to others in a similar situation?
Everyone should fight back against excessive rents. If you don't do it for yourself, you should at least do it for the tenants who come after you. There is no risk involved either, because you don't pay anything if it doesn't succeed in the end. You are also well protected legally against any steps the landlord might take, and you can get advice and representation on that as well. So there is no reason not to try.