🏖️ Subletting and holiday flats
In brief
Your tenant may sublet part of the flat if they have a legitimate interest. You may refuse if there is an important reason in the person of the subtenant.
- You may make permission conditional on a rent increase, but only if allowing the use is reasonable for you only with an appropriate increase (§ 553 Abs. 2 BGB).
- Holiday flat: short-term letting to tourists may be prohibited or subject to permission under the law on misuse of housing. This is state or municipal law.
Step by step
- Check the requestDoes the tenant have a legitimate interest?
- Check the subtenantAre there important reasons against the subtenant?
- Clarify the surchargeAn appropriate surcharge is only possible if allowing the use would otherwise not be reasonable for you.
- Clarify holiday lettingAsk your municipality about the law on misuse of housing.
Deadlines
- Agreements to the contrary to the tenant's disadvantage are invalid.
- Bans on misuse of housing and permit requirements depend on the state; not researched.
- Subletting in breach of contract can lead to termination; details not checked against the wording.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Permission, § 553 BGB
If, after the contract is concluded, the tenant develops a legitimate interest in letting part of the housing to a third party for use, they can demand permission. This does not apply if there is an important reason in the person of the third party, if the housing would be excessively occupied, or if allowing the use cannot reasonably be expected of the landlord for other reasons. If allowing the use is reasonable only with an appropriate rent increase, the permission can be made conditional on the tenant's consent to that increase. Agreements to the contrary to the tenant's disadvantage are invalid.
Return from third parties, § 546 Abs. 2 BGB
If the tenant has let a third party use the rented property, the landlord can also demand its return from that party after the tenancy ends.
Holiday flats and misuse of housing
The right to let housing as a holiday flat or short term is essentially governed by state and municipal law (misuse-of-housing rules). These were not researched. Before letting to tourists, check the rules of your state and municipality. Mietrecht II provides rules on short-term lettings; government draft, not current law.
State law (sample BY/NRW/BE)
Sample, not complete, state law differs. Bavaria: Art. 1 ZwEWG authorises municipalities to introduce, by bylaw (valid for no more than five years), a permit requirement for the misuse of housing; whether your municipality has a bylaw, you must ask there. According to the construction ministry's guidance, misuse exists in particular in the case of commercial use, letting to tourists for more than eight weeks in total per calendar year, or vacancy of more than three months (search hit, not checked in full text). Berlin: According to the Senate administration, the Zweckentfremdungsverbot-Gesetz generally requires prior permission from the district office; Berlin has implemented the adaptation to EU Regulation 2024/1028 (registration numbers for short-term letting; EU-wide application from 20 May 2026) by amending the law, technically still in the test phase according to a search hit. Extension of the ordinance to 2030 only from a secondary source. North Rhine-Westphalia: The Wohnraumstärkungsgesetz (since 1 July 2021) allows municipalities to make rules on housing supervision and short-term letting (MHKBD); details not checked in full text.
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