In the fictional tenancy agreement for a condominium the shared use of a communal terrace is expressly described. Later the owners' association decides on a new house rules file with tighter usage times. The letting owner wishes to send the new file immediately as a binding contractual amendment. Beforehand he must reconcile two legal relationships that until now have lain separately in his files.
Read the resolution and your own commitment in full
§ 19 WEG provides, within the scope cited there, for resolutions on administration and use and expressly names the house rules. [W19] At this level it must be examined what the community actually resolved and whether the specific regulation is effective.
Alongside this is the existing tenancy agreement. § 535 BGB obliges the provision of use in accordance with the contract. [B535] The owner therefore presents the terrace use actually agreed together with annexes and later amendments. A general note that the flat is simply located in a community does not answer the concrete content of his commitment.
In the example it initially remains open whether the old contract already takes certain communal changes into account and what significance that would have. This question is not decided by choosing the document that appears more convenient.
Show the deviation in respect of a specific use
Our editorial recommendation is a comparison with an actual everyday scenario. When was the tenant allowed to use the terrace under the previous agreement? What would the new provision change about that? Which exact passage is the basis in each case?
In the fictional case the owner describes an ordinary after-work use. He does not use an invented general definition of an acceptable quiet period. The problem is not the mere existence of two files, but a possible restriction of precisely this agreed use.
If the reading shows that in fact there is no deviation, this result is also documented. A lengthy dispute should not be constructed solely from different wordings.
Link the two legal review assignments
For a contractual amendment of an obligation relationship § 311 paragraph 1 generally requires a contract, unless the law provides otherwise. [B311] From this arises for the preparation: the community resolution and the alleged change to the tenancy agreement each need an appropriate classification. This article does not claim that every community rule is ineffectual towards tenants.
The advice therefore receives both documents and the specifically described clash. It should explain what duties fall on the owner towards the community, what use is owed under the tenancy agreement and what legally permissible route can bring both sides together. Any necessary deadlines and further steps are examined promptly.
An oral statement from the meeting is not used as a complete answer to this contractual question. Nor does the owner solve the problem by simply concealing one layer of his legal relationships when addressing the other.
Inform the tenant of the correct position
In his communication the owner distinguishes the new communal rule, the determined contractual question and the reviewed further course of action. He does not prematurely demand a signature that is announced as a mere receipt confirmation but is actually intended to contain a substantive amendment.
In the fictional case a clear point of review on terrace use is created first. Afterwards it is decided whether an explanation, an admissible agreement or another legal step is necessary. The result is a comprehensible handling of the actual conflict. A newly dated house rules file alone cannot replace it.