New door, who pays?

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Disputes between landlords and tenants are unfortunately all too common. Often it is a question of who has to pay for the costs of repairs or maintenance work. It is better if you come to an agreement with your landlord about who will pay the cost of a new door, for example, instead of arguing about it for a long time.

If you want to come to an agreement with your landlord about who will pay the cost of a new door, you should, however, also know that as a tenant you are usually not obliged to do so will.

The assumption of costs for a new door

  • First of all, it can be decisive which door is to be renewed or replaced. If you live in a larger residential building with individual rental apartments and it is a matter of renewing the front door, this is the responsibility of the landlord.
  • If your own apartment door is defective or if the door lock needs to be replaced, this is also initially a matter for the landlord. Because the landlord has to keep the rented property "during the rental period" in a "condition suitable for use in accordance with the contract", cf. § 535 para. 1 p. 2 BGB.
  • If your door no longer closes properly or if it has another serious defect, you should report this defect to the landlord as soon as possible.
  • If you fail to do this, you may even be obliged to pay compensation if the landlord incurs damage as a result (e.g. vandalism in the apartment), cf. Section 536c para. 2 pp. 1 BGB.
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  • In such a case, you can try to inform your landlord by telephone and should also record this conversation in a short note. In order to be able to prove the information of the landlord later in a dispute, it is better to send a fax and also to print out the transmission protocol.
  • In addition, you should take a photo of the existing defect at the time you discovered it and reported it to the landlord. Because then you can prove later that possible further deterioration of the rental property only occurred after informing the landlord about it.

If the landlord doesn't pay

  • It can only be problematic if you as the tenant are responsible for the deficiency. Then you should consider whether a possible defect on the door has resulted from contractual use or whether you have deliberately damaged the door.
  • As a tenant, you are not responsible for a defect in the door caused by use in accordance with the contract, cf. Section 538 BGB. You do not have to bear the costs of a new door.
  • However, if you vandalized the door, it will be you who pays in the end. Because then the landlord has a claim for damages against you, cf. § 823 para. 1 BGB. However, the landlord would have to be able to prove this in the event of a dispute.
  • If you have a private landlord and do not live with a large housing company, it will usually be easier to find a compromise in the event of a dispute. If, for example, the door lock needs to be replaced anyway, you need a special one Put a security door that the landlord does not want to pay, suggest to him that the costs be closed share. Try to convince your landlord by arguing that a particularly secure door ultimately also means upgrading the rental property.

In the case of a new house or apartment door, it will usually be the landlord who pays for it. However, if the apartment door is functional and has no defects, but you no longer like it, you will have to pay for a new door yourself.

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