You receive a termination for your flat in a small house. The renting person also lives there and writes that they do not need a reason of personal use (Eigenbedarf). That need not be an obviously ineffective assertion nor an immediately enforceable obligation to vacate. In Germany § 573a BGB contains a special termination possibility. For a sensible response, building, actual use, the letter and deadlines are examined together.
Recognise the special constellation first
Section 573a(1) BGB covers a flat in a building occupied by the landlord themselves with no more than two flats. Under these conditions a termination is possible even without a legitimate interest within the meaning of § 573. For that, the notice period is extended by three months. [HAUS]
This is not a general rule for all private lettings or for every property advertised as a two-family house. Clarify who is letting, who actually lives in the building and how many flats are present. A unit that is not let does not disappear from the factual question for that reason alone. In the case of converted rooms or unclear division, the classification is examined professionally rather than merely counting the number of letterboxes.
Paragraph 2 also concerns certain rooms within the landlord’s own occupied landlord flat and contains a reference to an exception. [HAUS] This constellation is not treated here as an independent self-contained flat. Other rules may apply to a furnished room in the shared household; this article does not calculate a deadline for that.
Read the stated basis in the letter
The termination letter must state that the termination is based on the conditions of paragraph 1 or 2. [HAUS] Note, therefore, what the renting party actually declares. A mere oral announcement of a later termination and an already received letter are different stages of processing.
Our editorial recommendation: Secure the complete letter, the actual receipt, the tenancy agreement and available information about the building. Do not only ask whether a personal-use ground has been proved. For this special termination basis that question would miss the decisive legal approach. At the same time, the mere citation of a paragraph number does not yet mean that all prerequisites are met.
Add the additional period to the appropriate base notice period
The three additional months are not an independent total period. For ordinary termination § 573c(1) initially contains the rule on the third working day and on the expiry of the next but one month. For landlords the period is extended by three months after five and eight years since the handover respectively. [FRIST]
To the appropriate base period is added, for an effective termination under § 573a, the extension specified there. Have therefore the point in time of handover, receipt and the termination date examined together. A calculation based solely on the date at the top of the letter is not a reliable check of deadlines. Even a period stated by the landlord should not be adopted as correct without verification.
Example: The wrong point of dispute would delay the response
In the fictitious case Nele has lived for several years in her own flat above the landlord’s flat. She receives a letter based on § 573a and initially wants only to demand evidence for an alleged personal need. An advice centre instead arranges with her the actual number of flats, the personal use and the stated date.
The example does not decide whether Nele’s termination is effective. It shows why the concrete basis is important: a reply exclusively addressing the lack of personal need can leave other decisive questions and deadlines untouched. Nele therefore processes the written termination in good time, instead of relying on an apparently clear refutation.
A hardship objection remains a separate examination
Section 574 BGB allows, under its conditions, an objection and the request for continuation due to unjustifiable hardship. This can also include that reasonable replacement accommodation cannot be procured on acceptable terms. The provision contains at the same time a limit in the case of a reason that justifies extraordinary immediate termination. [HAERTE]
An eased termination therefore does not automatically mean that every personal hardship would be irrelevant. Conversely a difficult flat-hunt does not guarantee continuation. Have actual circumstances and the requirements applicable to an objection clarified early. The aim is a timely processed housing situation: correct legal classification, documentable personal circumstances and a practical plan for the possible further routes.