Tenant's objection to a landlord's notice on hardship grounds (Germany)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
The letter a tenant in Germany uses to object to a landlord's ordinary notice — for own use, for example — and to demand that the tenancy continue, because moving out would be an unjustifiable hardship for the tenant or the household (§ 574 of the German Civil Code, BGB): old age, illness, pregnancy, children at school or no affordable replacement housing. Since 1 January 2025 text form is enough (§ 574b BGB); the objection must reach the landlord no later than two months before the tenancy ends. The letter gives the reasons and does not accept the notice. In German.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Tenant
- Tenant's address
- Landlord
- Landlord's postal address (street, then postcode and town on the next line)
- City
- Date
- Address of the property
- Date of the contract
- Date of the notice
- Date received
- Date of termination
- Who objects: the only tenant, or all tenants together (where there are several, all of them)
- Household members
- Hardship grounds (e.g. age, illness, children, no replacement housing)
- Search for replacement housing so far
- How long the tenancy is to continue: indefinitely, or for a reasonable period
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Is an e-mail enough to object to a landlord's notice in Germany?
- Yes, since 1 January 2025. The Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act replaced written form with text form for the objection (§ 574b(1) BGB); an e-mail, a fax or this letter as a PDF will do, provided it names the person objecting. Many older templates and some notices still say “in writing”. What matters is that the objection arrives in time, so keep proof of receipt, such as a signed acknowledgement or the landlord's reply.
- By when must a tenant's hardship objection reach the landlord in Germany?
- No later than two months before the end of the tenancy stated in the notice (§ 574b(2) BGB). If it arrives later, the landlord may refuse to continue the tenancy. That does not apply if the landlord did not point out the right to object, its form and its deadline in good time before that period ran out: the tenant can then still object at the first hearing of the eviction case. Even so, do not rely on that — object early.
- What counts as hardship against a landlord's notice in Germany?
- The law names only one ground expressly: suitable replacement housing cannot be found on reasonable terms (§ 574(2) BGB). Otherwise it depends on circumstances affecting the tenant, their family or others in the household, such as old age, serious illness or disability, pregnancy, children at school or in training, or a long tenancy with deep roots in the area. Describe concretely what a move would do, back it up, for example with medical certificates, and set out the search for a flat so far.
- Against which notices does a hardship objection not help in Germany?
- Against a justified termination without notice, for example for substantial rent arrears (§ 574(1) BGB); if the landlord gave notice without notice and ordinary notice in the alternative, the objection fails if the termination without notice was justified. It is also unavailable for tenancies outside tenant protection, such as a furnished room in the landlord's own flat (§ 549(2) BGB). Nor does the objection replace checking whether the notice itself is valid, which is why the letter expressly does not accept it.
- What happens after a tenant objects to a German landlord's notice?
- The landlord may agree to continue the tenancy, agree its length and terms with the tenant, or bring an eviction action. In that case the local court weighs the hardship against the landlord's interests and decides whether and for how long the tenancy continues — indefinitely if it is uncertain when the hardship will end (§ 574a BGB). Meanwhile, keep paying the rent as before.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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