Application: templates and forms

A letter asking a German employer for a full employment reference (qualifiziertes Arbeitszeugnis) on leaving, or an interim reference (Zwischenzeugnis) while still employed — expressly covering performance and conduct, because without that request the employer owes only a basic reference stating the type and length of the work (§ 109 of the German Trade Regulation Act, GewO). It gives the job, the period of employment, the reason and a date by which the reference should be posted. No form is prescribed for the request. In German.

The application to Austria's tax office, the Finanzamt Österreich, to suspend collection of a disputed tax until your complaint is decided, under § 212a of the Austrian Federal Fiscal Code (BAO) — because a complaint alone does not stop payment. With the assessment, the date of the complaint, the amount and how it is worked out (§ 212a Abs 3 BAO); it can be made afresh after a request for referral to the Federal Fiscal Court (§ 212a Abs 5 BAO). While it is pending, no enforcement is taken. Through FinanzOnline, by post or fax: an e-mail is no submission at all (§§ 85, 86a BAO). In German.

The letter a tenant in Germany sends to ask the landlord's permission to sublet a room or the whole flat — without it the tenant may not let anyone else use the flat (§ 540 of the German Civil Code, BGB). It names the rooms, the period and the subtenant with date of birth and address, explains the interest that arose after the lease was signed, relies for part of the flat on the claim to permission under § 553 BGB, and points to the special right to give notice if permission is refused. Letting to holiday guests is a separate choice, because ordinary permission does not cover it. In German, to print, sign and send.