After the outbreak of the Ukraine war, private accommodation for refugees was desperately sought all over the country. A man from Munich had also offered the top floor apartment in his rented house to a Ukrainian woman and her 15-year-old granddaughter – initially with the consent of the landlord. But after eight weeks, they no longer wanted to allow the tenant to let the two continue to live in the house in Gräfelfing (Munich district) free of charge. On Friday (9:00 a.m.) the Munich district court will therefore ask whether the owners can really refuse this – or whether they have to agree to the use of living space when it comes to humanitarian aid.
According to the DMB Tenants’ Association Munich, you generally need the consent of the landlord if you want to sublet part of your rented living space or, as in this case, want to let third parties free of charge. “Under certain circumstances, however, tenants also have a right to this consent – if they can understandably justify a “legitimate interest” in subletting or letting.”
Such a legitimate interest could also be humanitarian aid, explained tenant association expert Volker Rastätter. “So far, however, this has not been clarified by the highest court. We want to change that and are therefore taking on the legal costs.” In addition, a strong bond has now developed between the widowed tenant and his children, the 74-year-old Ukrainian and her 15-year-old granddaughter, who in turn was traumatized by the war and the death of her mother.
