An apartment already belongs to another person but was rented out by a usufructuary (Nießbraucherin). After her death, those involved want to know who continues the contract and whether the ownership side can release itself from a longer commitment. The decisive question is not merely that a right of use ends. The owner’s own prior and inheritance-related relationship to the tenancy must also be clarified.
Separate the terminated right from the existing contract
For a natural person the usufruct expires on death pursuant to § 1061 BGB. § 1056 contains corresponding transitional rules for lettings that extend beyond the duration of the usufruct. [B1061, B1056] The tenancy agreement is therefore not to be filed away as a completed matter solely because the usufructuary has died.
Begin with the actually constituted right and the complete tenancy file. Which rooms were covered? Who signed as landlord? Are there subsequent accessions, addenda or other commitments of the ownership side? These documents should collectively show what exists at the relevant point in time.
The treatment of claims already arisen, securities and individual payments may, if necessary, require a separate accounting. This article does not provide a blanket instruction for account transfers.
Do not read a possible special right in isolation from the statute
§ 1056 paragraph 2 provides the owner with a termination with a statutory notice period. In the case of a renunciation of the usufruct it also specifies a temporal limitation. [B1056] However, anyone who reads only the first sentence can overlook a decisive personal contractual commitment.
In margin number 25 of judgment VIII ZR 278/13 the BGH explicitly explains for the owner after the end of the usufruct: a personal commitment, independent of the statutory occurrence, can exclude termination according to good faith. Mentioned are a contract concluded personally, accession to the contract or sole inheritance after the landlord. [BGH278]
Accordingly, a separation of roles belongs in the examination task. Owner, former landlord and her legal succession are not equated solely because of family proximity. A community of heirs (Erbengemeinschaft) is in particular not treated as a sole inheritance without further examination.
Present your own history in full
Our editorial recommendation is a short timeline with the associated documents: acquisition of ownership, creation of the usufruct, conclusion of the tenancy agreement, later personal declarations and end of the right. Alongside this should be the documented inheritance position.
An addendum signed earlier is included even if the ownership side at the time understood it only as intra-family support. The advice must be able to assess the actual content. Conversely, a mere forwarding of contact details is not declared an accession to the contract in its own right.
This gives rise to concrete decision questions: Does the current contractual position rest solely on the statutory transition or is there a further personal commitment? Which agreements remain decisive? What effect does this have on the desired termination route?
Classify a request from the tenant side in good time
Pursuant to § 1056 paragraph 3 the tenant side can prompt the owner, with appropriate notice, to declare whether he will exercise the right to terminate. Termination can then only take place up to the expiry of that period. [B1056] Such a letter therefore belongs promptly, together with its receipt and annexes, to the legal review.
The statutory period is also not a general means of bypassing residential tenancy protection. § 573d refers in the case of extraordinary termination with statutory notice to further protective provisions. [B573D] The concrete reason and the prerequisites of the declaration must therefore be examined independently.
Plan further use only after the clarified result
A usable result names the current contractual position, any possible personal commitment and the actually available further course. Only then should own plans for moving in, selling or continuing be aligned.
Neither the end of the usufruct nor the mere status as owner answers all these questions. A fully traceable contract history is precisely what makes visible the difference on which the possible termination decision depends.