Rent reduction if the apartment door is broken?

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The apartment door is part of the rental property. It is important because only this door separates your private living area and all your belongings from the rest of the house and protects you from strangers. If there is a defect, this can entitle you to a rent reduction. But not all impairments are significant enough for that.

There is an urgent need for action on the part of the landlord here.
There is an urgent need for action on the part of the landlord here.

The apartment door in proper function

  • Even if you know it as the apartment door, the decisive door is the apartment entrance door through which you enter the apartment.
  • Such an entrance door must be in a proper condition. The demands that are made on it can, however, be viewed differently by you than by your landlord.
  • First of all, an apartment door has to be there at all. A mere room door that has been converted for this purpose is of course not enough. You can usually recognize room doors by the fact that they can be pushed open from both sides using a latch. In addition, room doors are often lighter in construction and have a simple lock with a bit key.
  • You can also expect the lock to snap into your apartment entrance door when it is pulled shut.
  • The entrance door must also be lockable and your landlord must provide you with a sufficient number of keys. Two are the lower limit, but three keys are more suitable for a multi-person household.
    • Apply for rent reduction retrospectively

    Defects reduce the quality of living. If the tenant wants to claim a rent reduction, ...

Defects that lead to a reduction in rent

Whenever these basic functions of your apartment door are not available, you are of course entitled to remedy the deficiencies and can consider a rent reduction. An exception only applies if you yourself caused this damage willfully.

  • If your entrance door cannot be locked, the rent reduction is justified. However, it is not set as high by the courts as it should be. Expect a range below 20 percent. This is very little, because after all, you can hardly trust yourself to leave your apartment until the repairs are carried out.
  • If the door is there, but so badly installed that it pulls out of the hallway at all corners and ends, you can also use the rent reduce. You will eventually suffer damage from the increased heating costs. The lack of insulation also leads to a reduction of around 10 percent.
  • You are of course entitled to keys for your door. If you are already in a dispute with your landlord and he wants to prevent access by replacing the locks, this triggers a rent reduction. You have the right to enter your home at any time as long as it has not been effectively vacated.
  • However, some deficiencies are considered to be negligible. A dragging door is just as important as a low level of fittings. You are not entitled to high-quality security fittings without an express rental agreement.

Many defects on the apartment door exist even before the lease is signed. Never accept verbal promises from the landlord, but rather make these corrections and changes in writing rental contract on. This will make it easier for you to insist on getting things done later.

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