Create the handover protocol for the rental apartment

Tenants can certainly not record every single small defect in writing. But really important resp. Serious damage and defects should be noted in a handover report before handing over the apartment keys and moving into the rented apartment. This includes the following aspects, which should be noted as precisely as possible both when moving in and when moving out.

That belongs in the handover protocol

• The handover protocol is a fact sheet that documents the current status. Even if the landlord countersigns these and thus the defects or confirms the condition of the apartment in writing, you should always draw up such a report under witnesses. Because if the landlord wants to make subsequent claims, witnesses can help to prove the actual condition of the rented apartment.
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• The current condition of each individual room in the rental apartment is recorded in the handover protocol. It is accordingly subdivided into bedrooms, living room, nursery, Hallway, bathroom, kitchen, etc.
• The condition of the ancillary facilities such as B. The balcony / terrace or cellar must be correctly described. If you find deficiencies, you should record these assigned to each room.
• After each deficiency listed, make a note of when and by whom it will be remedied. The form in which the defect is remedied also belongs in the handover protocol (e.g. B. "bedroom: Socket to the right of the window will be renewed by the landlord ").


Handing over the rental apartment to the next tenant - information on handover

If you move out of your old apartment, you have to give the rental apartment to the new tenant ...

• The handover protocol also includes the exact gas meter readings, current, Water, etc. as well as the associated meter numbers.
• There are also the number of keys to the apartment and the last one renovation to hold onto the rented apartment.
• Other notes or Ancillary agreements belong as the last point in the handover protocol. This includes notes such as B. "The apartment was not renovated when moving in and does not have to be handed over renovated when moving out" or “The previous tenant's fixtures in the corridor area are part of the apartment and are used by the tenant to hand over".
• If there are no defects in the entire apartment when moving in or out, this should be written down accordingly. An "OK" or "OK" as a note on the room list in your handover protocol or the phrase "The entire apartment was handed over in an orderly and contractual condition".
• The handover protocol for the rental apartment should be signed by the landlord, tenant and all witnesses present with the correct date of the inspection and inventory.

Rented apartment - important judgments when moving in and out

What is in the handover protocol is binding. Tenants or tenants are legally liable Landlords only for what was written down as a defect in it and accepted by both sides, as various courts have already decided.

• If the takeover or handover protocol of the rental apartment does not contain any defects, the landlord has no chance To enforce claims for damages due to cosmetic repairs after the tenant has moved out (judgment of the AG Münster, from 9. January 1990, Az: 4 C 720/89). This is especially true with the note that the apartment was returned "in an orderly condition".
• If, after the tenant has moved out, the landlord discovers defects that have not been recorded, the tenant is no longer liable for them. Because the landlord cannot hold the tenant responsible for damage within the rented apartment that is not in the handover protocol. As a result, the landlord is not entitled to withhold the rental deposit in whole or in part, in order to z. B. to compensate for the shortcomings. The handover protocol serves as proof that the defects were not relevant at the time of handover. If the landlord asks the tenant to settle the damage, this represents an unjustified claim (judgments: AG Pforzheim Az: 6 C 105/04; LG Braunschweig AZ: 6 S 175/94).
• Has the tenant inspected the apartment together with the landlord and checked the condition of all rooms in the If the handover protocol has been confirmed as free of defects, the tenant must himself / herself any defects that become apparent later prove. Then he must provide evidence that z. B. the hairline crack in the washbasin was already present when moving into the rented apartment (judgment OLG Düsseldorf 10. Civil Senate, judgment of 27. March 2003, Az: 10 U 64/02).