After the successful bid for a rented flat, a hypothetical purchaser hears that he can now terminate the existing tenancy by giving the statutory notice period. At the same time he wants to wait a few months before deciding on the future use. His plan is to exercise the special right if necessary at that later point. Before following this plan he needs a timely review of the specific contract and of the available route to termination.
Treat the tenancy as the existing starting point
§ 57 ZVG refers, where land has already been handed over, to certain transitional rules from tenancy law, modified by §§ 57a and 57b. [Z57] The purchaser therefore has the actually existing contract, including amendments, compiled. The auction is not understood as a reason to ignore the existing contract file.
Which rights continue to exist and how possession can actually be obtained is a separate area for examination. This concerns the question whether and when a particular termination of the tenancy is to be considered. A planned personal move-in is not prejudged by that.
Have the first possible date determined promptly
§ 57a gives the purchaser a right to terminate with observance of the statutory notice period. It is excluded if notice is not given for the first permissible date. [Z57A] The special right is therefore not a reserve that can be invoked arbitrarily at a later planning stage.
In the hypothetical case the purchaser submits the award documents, contract and his existing knowledge of the letting directly to legal advice. That advice is to determine the relevant first date and the steps needed for it. This article does not calculate a specific date of receipt nor decide on peculiarities of individual auction terms.
Only after this review is the purchaser's own decision schedule established. If fundamental decisions on use are still lacking, this uncertainty will also be expressly communicated. A possible deadline does not become either an obligation to terminate or a reason to hastily assert an unconfirmed ground for termination.
Check statutory notice period and permissible ground together
For extraordinary termination with the statutory notice period § 573d, with its stated exception, refers to §§ 573 and 573a. For ordinary residential premises it names the third working day to the end of the second following month; particular room constellations have their own rule. [B573D]
The calculation of the date therefore does not alone answer whether the desired result can be achieved legally. § 573 requires a justified interest and its substantiation in the letter. [B573] Which protection and which further requirements apply in the concrete case must be examined by the advice on the basis of the whole factual situation.
Our purchaser therefore sets out his actual intended use. He does not replace a still-open decision with a precautionary allegation of owner-occupancy (Eigenbedarf). An alternative possibility for termination is likewise not assumed merely because it is mentioned in a statutory cross-reference.
Make a deliberate decision with visible consequences
The outcome of the review assignment should explain three things: the existing contractual status, the special route available, if any, and its concrete time window. In addition come the prerequisites and risks of the declaration actually being considered. Continuing the tenancy remains a possibility to be planned deliberately.
In the hypothetical case the purchaser separates his short-term date decision from the long-term planning for the property. After the review he can reliably decide whether to pursue a permissible course or to continue the tenancy. A general note about the special right to terminate is not adopted into his own construction or move-in plan as a confirmed free availability of the flat.