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Rent reduction for other defects: court rulings and percentages

In 19 rulings in our table, courts allowed a rent reduction of 2 % to 100 %. How much depends on how far the defect restricts the use of the apartment.

Updated: October 2026 · 119 court rulings

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19 rulings found

Enforce your right to rent reduction

Create a free defect notice with a rent reduction demand — backed by these court rulings.

Reduce rent
DefectReductionDescription
100 %Apartment uninhabitable after a kitchen fire the tenant did not cause through gross negligence; the landlord's building insurance applies
100 %Weakly bound asbestos constantly releases fibers (top remediation urgency); apartment unfit to live in
100 %Extremely high levels of carcinogenic PAHs in the indoor air; apartment uninhabitable
50 %Landlord secretly kept a key and entered the apartment without permission
25 %Apartment door cannot be locked; security and insurance risk
25 %Damaged bathroom and drafty, poorly closing windows (combined rate)
20 %Faulty seals on windows and doors; strong drafts and water getting in
20 %Advertising banner on scaffolding covered 4 of 5 windows and the balcony
20 %Damaged and missing asbestos floor tiles (Floor-Flex); reduction from the start of the lease
15 %Leaky windows with drafts and heat loss
15 %Asbestos floor tiles (Floor-Flex) with many damaged spots that can release fibers
12 %After modernization, window areas a third smaller in four rooms; 3% per window
10 %Strong cold drafts from the ventilation system in a passive house
10 %Strong smell of decay and feces from the neighboring apartment
8 %Pungent smell from a bakery on the ground floor in the mornings; later 5%
5 %Less daylight after modernization due to insulation, smaller windows and a balcony above
4.8 %Bicycle cellar reduced from 49 to 7 m² by modernization (rate of the lower court upheld)
4 %Persistent bad smell in the stairwell
2 %Intercom does not work