What the house rules regulate
According to the blog “Rechtslupe”, the landlord or owner lays down general regulations for the use of the building in house rules. As the name suggests, this is intended to ensure a certain order. It is therefore a kind of supplement to the provisions of the rental agreement. Therefore, the house rules cannot impose any new obligations on the tenants, but they can define existing regulations from the rental agreement in more detail. For this purpose, it must be ensured that the tenants can also take note of the agreement. This is done either via the appendix to the rental agreement or via a general notice in the building. In the first variant, individual agreements can still be made for individual tenants. For example, the cleaning of the stairwell and the sidewalks can be anchored in the rental agreement. This obligation is then regulated in more detail in house rules. The landlord can decide whether all tenants or only certain residents are responsible for the cleaning and what process the activity should take.
In most cases, however, the house rules have the same content and obligations for all tenants. These are fundamental provisions that both the landlord and the tenants can insist on observing. The best-known example is probably the fixed rest periods. These define exactly when loud activities such as listening to music or repair work can be carried out and when they are prohibited. If there is a disturbance during the quiet times, all parties can refer to the house rules and demand a reduction in noise. Another focus is on requirements to ensure building safety. These can contain information on locking the front doors, the garden entrances or the garage doors. In addition, the provisions of fire protection and keeping escape routes clear are dealt with in more detail here. Furthermore, the house rules regulate the use of the balcony, garden and courtyard areas as well as barbecuing and playing on the premises.
What the house rules must not contain
As already explained at the beginning, the house rules must not contain any new regulations and must not otherwise deviate from the rental agreement. Permissions from the rental agreement cannot therefore be revoked by the house rules, but only described in more detail. The same applies to the granting of further rights. Provisions that the landlord communicates via a public notice must not vary between the tenants, but must have general validity. Individual agreements can only be contractually defined with the relevant tenant. Subsequent changes to the specific regulations are only possible with renewed consent from the tenant.
Last but not least, the house rules must not violate applicable law. According to the website “Mietrecht.com”, a general ban on keeping animals is therefore not permissible. In addition, the landlord may not issue any bans on visits or overnight stays and may not grant himself the right to enter the apartments at any time. In addition, it is not permitted to restrict heating, showering or the use of the washing machine in terms of time.
Editorial office finanzen.net
Image sources: didesign021 / Shutterstock.com, Alexander Raths / Shutterstock.com