The basic principle: whoever is to blame must pay
Tenancy law establishes the following basic principle when it comes to keys: Whoever is to blame must pay – and if it is unclear, the landlord.
Of course, things are not always that simple and of course there are exceptions, but if the key breaks off in the lock, for example, the costs for a new lock only have to be borne if it can be proven that the key was handled incorrectly, like this the consumer portal “German Tenancy Law”. If the reason for the broken key is the faulty quality of the lock, the landlord is responsible and pays. If the situation is unclear, according to a judgment from 2009, the landlord also has to pay.
The landlord must replace stolen keys
The question of guilt or responsibility becomes somewhat more complicated when it comes to missing keys: According to the German Tenants’ Association, if a key has been stolen, it is not the tenant’s fault. The latter does have to have the new key copied, but does not have to pay either for the associated costs or for a new locking system – as can be found in apartment buildings.
If, on the other hand, you have lost the key, it depends on the location of the loss and the associated risk of misuse. For example, if the key is verifiably lying on the bottom of a lake or has sunk in the tar on a construction site, the risk of misuse is zero. In this case, you may have to pay for a new key yourself. However, the Munich District Court has ruled that the financial contribution that a tenant has to make to a new locking system decreases with less risk of misuse, since the new locking system is also less urgently needed.
In any case, you should report the loss of a key to your liability insurance as early as possible, which may cover the resulting costs.
The landlord will reimburse the costs for additional keys
The landlord always has to be notified if a key is lost or an additional one is made – this is explained by Swen Walentowski from the legal information service in an article. According to Walentowski, landlords also have the right to replace the locking system at any time, but a tenant does not always have to bear the costs for this.
And finally, an insider tip: According to “German Tenancy Law”, when you move out of an apartment for which you have had additional keys made, as a tenant you can ask the landlord for a refund of the costs incurred – after all, you are obliged to return every key to the apartment return the apartment or house to the landlord.
Editorial office finanzen.net
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