mietminderung

Rent reduction for water damage and damp: court rulings and percentages

In 17 rulings in our table, courts allowed a rent reduction of 5 % to 100 %. How much depends on how far the defect restricts the use of the apartment.

Updated: October 2026 · 119 court rulings

Typical reduction by severity

Minor

8 %

median of 4 rulings

Cosmetic damage, small area affected, discoloration

Moderate

23 %

median of 4 rulings

Significant water damage, room impaired, damp walls

Severe

80 %

median of 9 rulings

Severe flooding, multiple rooms affected, apartment barely habitable

Median reduction rates of the court rulings in our rent reduction table, per severity level. The figures update with every new ruling; individual cases may differ.

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17 rulings found

Defect: Water Damage / Moisture?

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

Reduce rent
DefectReductionDescription
100 %Damp walls and ceilings, rats, mold; apartment uninhabitable
100 %Leaking water meter; 50 dB(A) drying machines made the apartment uninhabitable
100 %Apartment uninhabitable after water damage from corroded heating pipes; 5% afterwards for a musty smell
100 %Ceilings, walls and floors of every room soaked and moldy; water comes in whenever it rains
80 %Mold in a studio apartment; two drying machines, hardly any room to move
60 %Damp rising from the floor, wallpaper peeling off, floor tiles cracked
50 %Carpet completely soaked; water dripping through the ceiling
30 %Living room unusable due to water damage
30 %Water dripping through the ceiling
25 %Rainwater entering through the chimney top; water stains on the walls; leaking windows
25 %Kitchen of a 4-room apartment unusable after water damage
20 %Soaked wall in the living room, water stains on the ceiling of the bay-window room
20 %Badly soaked walls in an old building with salt efflorescence and crumbling plaster, even without mold
15 %Leaking shower cubicle, large amounts of water on the bathroom floor; plaster damage in the bedroom
10 %Leaking roof, water coming in until it was sealed
5 %Discolored tiles after a repair
5 %Cellar included in the lease flooded by a burst pipe and unusable