mietminderung

Reduced your rent too much? When a rent reduction leads to termination in Germany

Published on October 7, 2026 · updated on October 12, 2026

In Germany a rent reduction (Mietminderung) applies by law (§ 536 BGB) – but you decide on the amount yourself, at your own risk. If a court later considers a lower rate appropriate, the difference counts as rent arrears. And arrears can cost you your apartment – even if the defect was real.

For our rent reduction table we checked the outcome of every ruling and found cases in which the court recognized the defect and the tenant still lost. They hold useful lessons.

The risk: a reduction turns into rent arrears

The landlord may terminate without notice (fristlose Kündigung) if you are behind by more than one month's rent on two consecutive due dates, or by a total of two months' rent over a longer period (§ 543 (2) no. 3, § 569 (3) no. 1 BGB). An ordinary termination is also possible if you breach your obligations culpably and not insignificantly (§ 573 (2) no. 1 BGB).

A mistake does not automatically protect you: the Federal Court of Justice held that a tenant who misjudges the cause of a defect and therefore deducts too much is in default if the mistake could have been avoided with due care (ruling of 11 July 2012 – VIII ZR 138/11).

Cases tenants lost despite a defect

1. Deducted too much

  • AG Düsseldorf, 27 March 2020 – 43 C 263/18: mold in four rooms. The tenant deducted 80 %, the court considered 60 % appropriate. The eviction claim succeeded.
  • LG Berlin, 22 October 2010 – 63 S 690/09: mold in several places. The tenant deducted 25 %, 10–15 % would have been appropriate. The termination without notice for arrears stood.
  • AG Wiesbaden, 18 January 2024 – 93 C 2942/22: a front door that did not close and smelly bins. The tenant deducted 28 %. The court recognized 5 % for the bins (7 % from June to August) and another 5 % for the front door from October 2022. Eviction, upheld on appeal (LG Wiesbaden, 4 September 2024 – 3 S 13/24).

2. Stopped paying altogether

  • LG Berlin II, 26 September 2024 – 64 S 143/23: the tenant paid no rent for over a year; only 5 % was recognized for the mold. She had to pay back about €13,000.
  • AG München, 18 May 2012 – 432 C 487/11: pollutants from parquet adhesive justified 30 %. The tenants largely stopped paying – the termination was valid, and the Federal Court of Justice found no error of law (15 January 2013 – VIII ZR 411/12).
  • AG Dülmen, 15 November 2012 – 3 C 128/12: rats. 80 % applied only for the month of pest control; because the tenant had stopped paying entirely, she had to pay about €3,000.

3. Prevented the repair

AG Frankfurt am Main, 12 May 2021 – 33 C 390/21: 20 % was appropriate for the mice – but not for the month in which the tenant's housekeeper turned down further pest control visits. If you do not let tradespeople or the exterminator in, you lose the right to reduce for that period.

4. Paid without reservation

AG Paderborn, 29 June 2021 – 54 C 20/21: 40 % was recognized for three weeks of water damage in the bathroom. The tenants still could not reclaim July's rent, because they had paid it without reservation (§ 814 BGB).

In other cases the court recognized the defect – for example 10 % for failing hot water (AG Essen, 20 July 2023 – 136 C 95/23) – but the accumulated arrears still justified termination. All cases tenants lost are in the table under "Lost cases".

How to reduce your rent without risking your home

  • Report the defect in writing (a Mängelanzeige) and set a deadline – no notice, no reduction (§ 536c BGB). Template: defect notice in German.
  • Go by comparable rulings: the median rates per severity level show what courts typically award. When in doubt, deduct a little less.
  • Pay under reservation: pay the full rent with the explicit note "unter Vorbehalt der Minderung" and reclaim the difference later. No arrears build up, and § 814 BGB does not stand in the way of reclaiming. A template is in our rent reduction letter templates.
  • Never simply stop paying – not even with a serious defect – without getting advice first.
  • Allow access: let tradespeople, experts and pest control into the apartment.
  • Let a court set the rate: with a declaratory action (Feststellungsklage) the court decides on the reduction before arrears arise. A tenant association (Mieterverein) can help you assess your case.

If you have already received a termination

A termination without notice for arrears becomes invalid if you pay all arrears within two months after the eviction lawsuit is served on you (§ 569 (3) no. 2 BGB) – this works only once in two years. It does not cure an ordinary termination issued at the same time (Federal Court of Justice, 19 September 2018 – VIII ZR 231/17). Get legal advice immediately.

Our tip: letters to German landlords should be in German. Our generator writes a free defect notice for you, and the rent reduction table shows which rates courts awarded in comparable cases.

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