The flat is let for several years. When organising the file it becomes apparent: one party has filed a different version of the contract than the other, and the signature status of the electronic files is unclear. This initially gives rise to a question for review. Neither discarding the file nor an immediate termination is a reliable solution.
Secure the actual final documents
Collect the versions from both sides, annexes, any original deeds, signature evidence and the correspondence concerning the conclusion. Note when the flat was handed over. Do not alter the documents to create an apparently uniform status retrospectively. A correction made today should not appear as the conclusion at that time.
Our editorial recommendation is a concise timeline: draft sent, changes agreed, respective declaration made, flat handed over, later agreements made. The timeline does not replace a contract, but it makes visible which concrete question the legal review must answer.
Understand the possible legal consequence correctly
§ 550 BGB provides that a tenancy concluded for a longer period than one year without being in writing is to be regarded as for an indefinite period. A termination is therefore permissible at the earliest at the expiry of one year after the handover of the dwelling. [LANGFRIST] The provision does not therefore mean that a formality problem automatically means that no tenancy exists at all.
For ordinary residential lettings, an ordinary landlord termination also requires a legitimate interest pursuant to § 573. [KUENDIGUNG] An allegedly open question of form is therefore not a reliable substitute for all further prerequisites for termination. Which special constellation applies must be examined in addition.
Distinguish signature, electronic file and substitute form
§ 126 describes the statutory written form and the signing of contracts. It allows, under the statutory conditions, replacement by electronic form. § 126a sets out its own requirements for this, including the qualified electronic signature. [SCHRIFT] [ELEKTRONISCH]
A file name such as signed or a visible signature image therefore does not by itself answer the technical and legal question of signature. Present the documents and evidence actually used. This article does not examine any signature procedure and does not assert that every electronically concluded agreement is ineffective.
It must also be clarified which particulars belong together in the correct form for the specific contract and how later amendments are to be classified. A general filing rule cannot conclusively decide this legal question.
Hypothetical case: two versions, a differing storage room
Sven finds a signed printout and a later-sent file with an altered extent for a storage room. The tenant party, in turn, has a different annex. He does not simply treat the most recent file as decisive.
Both actual states and the correspondence enter into the legal review. There it will be examined what was agreed and what significance the conclusion and form status have. If a clarification or new agreement is necessary, it will be drawn up appropriately and documented with its actual date.
Proceed after clarification with the correct contractual picture
Record the review result so that further management recognises the clarified status. Questions not yet finally answered remain visible. Payment overview, planned move-out and handover must fit the legally established contractual picture.
The examination described concerns residential tenancy in Germany. Current form rules for other types of contract are not transferred without examination. The aim is a legally comprehensible basis for further management, not a hasty way to get rid of an agreement that has become unwelcome.