Rent reduction by type of defect

How many percent of a rent reduction are you entitled to? This overview lists 63 housing defects in 13 categories, each with the range of rates German courts have recognised.

This text was machine-translated. Only the German version is legally binding. To the German original

Defect categories

Heating & Hot Water

3–100 %

Without working heating and hot water, a flat is not what you are paying rent for.

6 types of defect

Damp & Mould

3–100 %

No housing defect is reported more often in Germany than mould and damp.

6 types of defect

Noise & Disturbance

0–60 %

Noise damages no wall and leaves no stains, and yet it can make a flat unusable.

6 types of defect

Vermin & Pests

2–80 %

A single spider is nature; a cockroach infestation is a defect.

7 types of defect

Windows & Doors

1–20 %

Draughty windows let the heat out, and a broken flat door arguably lets out more.

5 types of defect

Bathroom & Plumbing

3–80 %

Without a bathroom and a toilet a flat is not habitable.

7 types of defect

Kitchen & Appliances

1–60 %

With kitchen appliances the tenancy agreement decides.

4 types of defect

Lift

3–25 %

Rent a flat on the fifth floor with a lift and you have rented the lift with it.

2 types of defect

Electrics & Technical

1–100 %

Almost everything in a flat hangs on the electricity, from the lights to the fridge to the heating controls.

4 types of defect

Floor Area & Room Quality

0–40 %

If the tenancy agreement states more floor area than the flat actually has, you pay month after month for square metres that do not exist.

3 types of defect

Balcony, Terrace & Outdoor Areas

0–15 %

Balcony, terrace, cellar compartment, parking space: whatever is in the tenancy agreement or was handed over when you moved in belongs to the rented property.

5 types of defect

Health Hazards

0–56 %

Asbestos, legionella, lead in the drinking water: where a flat can make you ill, more than comfort is at stake.

5 types of defect

Odour Nuisance

5–25 %

A stench cannot be seen, and that is exactly what makes it legally awkward: proving it is harder than proving a patch of mould.

3 types of defect

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