Guides / Rights & duties
Rights & duties
Defects, Mietminderung, noise and other rights around renting.
Defects, noise, access, pets: during a running tenancy, §§ 535–536c BGB decide who must tolerate, report or repair what. The tenant's lever is the Mängelanzeige (defect notice) with rent reduction; the landlord's is the Abmahnung (formal warning). Almost always, the side that can document the condition wins.
These guides explain both perspectives – from mould and noise disturbance to when a landlord may enter the flat.
Guides for landlords
- Energieausweis When Renting Out: 2026 Rules
Energieausweis when renting out in Germany: when it is mandatory, which type, presenting it at viewings and handover (§ 80 GEG), plus the fine.
- Tenant Causing Ruhestörung: What Landlords Can Do (2026)
Ruhestörung caused by a tenant: quiet hours, the Hausordnung, noise as a defect (§ 536 BGB), Abmahnung through Kündigung (§ 569 BGB), on solid legal ground.
- Rent Arrears and Mahnung: A Landlord's Guide (2026)
Mietrückstand and Zahlungsverzug: when a tenant is in default, how to issue a Mahnung, calculate Verzugszinsen, and when § 543 BGB allows immediate termination.
- Mängelanzeige & Repairs: Landlord Duties 2026
Got a Mängelanzeige? What obligates landlords to repair, what deadline applies, and when Mietminderung or Selbstvornahme kick in, §§ 535, 536, 536a, 536c BGB.
- When may a landlord enter the rented flat? (2026)
Landlords have no general right of access. When you may enter the flat, what notice applies, and when unannounced entry becomes a criminal offence.
Guides for tenants
- No Energieausweis Shown? Your Rights as a Tenant (2026)
Energieausweis when renting: the landlord must show it to you unprompted (§ 80 GEG). What your rights as a tenant are, explained in plain English.
- Noise & Ruhestörung in a German Rental: Your Rights (2026)
Ruhestörung in a German rental: quiet hours, when noise is a defect, how much Mietminderung is allowed, and when a tenant can be evicted.
- Mangelanzeige & Forcing a Repair: Tenant Rights 2026
Landlord won't repair? How to report a Mangel correctly, set a deadline and reduce the rent (§ 536, § 536c BGB), with a template and reduction rates.
- Mietminderung: Your Rights as a Tenant in Germany (2026)
Mietminderung for mould, no heating or noise: how much you may reduce, how to report the defect, and why to keep paying under Vorbehalt.
- Schimmel (Mould) in a Rented Flat: Your Rights (2026)
Mould is a Mangel: you may reduce the rent (§ 536 BGB) unless you caused it. Report it in writing at once (§ 536c BGB) and document everything.
- Schönheitsreparaturen: Must I Renovate When Moving Out? (2026)
Schönheitsreparaturen on move-out: only a valid clause in your Mietvertrag obliges you. Many are void under BGH case law, then you paint nothing.
- Can My Landlord Enter the Apartment? (2026)
Can your landlord enter your apartment in Germany? Your rights as a tenant: no general right of access, only with a concrete reason and advance notice.
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