⚖️ Late payment and eviction

From when you may terminate without notice for rent arrears, what grace-period payment does and how eviction works.

late payment termination without notice grace period eviction § 543 § 569 eviction lawsuit

In brief

If the tenant does not pay, or pays only in part, for two consecutive payment dates, you may terminate without notice. Where they are in arrears for two consecutive payment dates, the arrears must be more than one month's rent.

If the tenant pays the entire arrears within two months after the lawsuit is filed, the termination without notice becomes ineffective.
You must enforce eviction through the courts. Evicting yourself is prohibited.

Step by step

Calculate the arrearsCompile the dates and amounts.
State the reason for terminationGive the reason in the letter.
Observe the grace periodObserve the two-month period after the lawsuit is pending.
File the lawsuitHave an eviction lawsuit checked by a lawyer.

Deadlines

2 consecutive payment dates

Default on the rent or on a not insignificant part of it; over a longer period: arrears equal to two months' rent§ 543 Abs. 2 Nr. 3 BGB

more than 1 month's rent

From these arrears the part of the rent counts as not insignificant for housing; only where two consecutive payment dates are in default (§ 543 Abs. 2 S. 1 Nr. 3 Buchst. a BGB)§ 569 Abs. 3 Nr. 1 BGB

2 months

Grace period after the eviction claim becomes pending (Rechtshängigkeit)§ 569 Abs. 3 Nr. 2 BGB

Watch out – common mistakes

Eviction only with a court order; an interim injunction only in narrow cases (§ 940a ZPO).
In an eviction lawsuit for late payment, a security order can have consequences.
Mietrecht II provides for changes to grace-period payment; government draft, not current law.
Questions on the grace period and legal consequences are complex; details were only partly checked against the wording.
Termination is excluded if you are satisfied before it is received (§ 543 Abs. 2 S. 2 BGB). Grace-period payment covers rent and compensation for use (§ 546a Abs. 1), but according to BGH case law cures only the termination without notice, not an alternative ordinary termination (not checked in full text).

In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

Termination without notice, § 543 BGB

There is good cause if the tenant is in default on paying the rent or a not insignificant part of the rent for two consecutive payment dates, or, over a period spanning more than two payment dates, in default on an amount equal to two months' rent. A prior warning is not required in the case of late payment.

Housing, § 569 BGB

For housing, where two consecutive payment dates are in default (§ 543 Abs. 2 S. 1 Nr. 3 Buchst. a), the arrears are only not insignificant if they exceed the rent for one month. The termination becomes ineffective if the landlord is satisfied within two months after the eviction claim becomes pending (Rechtshängigkeit). The reason for termination must be stated in the letter. Termination is excluded under § 543 Abs. 2 S. 2 if the landlord is satisfied before it is received. The grace period under § 569 Abs. 3 Nr. 2 covers the rent and the compensation for use under § 546a Abs. 1. According to BGH case law, grace-period payment cures only the termination without notice, not an alternative ordinary termination (not checked in full text).

Eviction, § 940a ZPO

Eviction of housing by interim injunction is only permitted in cases of forbidden self-help or concrete danger to life or limb, against third parties in possession where an enforceable eviction order exists against the tenant, and in the case of late payment where the defendant does not comply with a security order. The hearing of the opposing party before the order is issued under Abs. 4 concerns only the cases in Absätze 2 and 3.

Who is responsible

Amtsgericht (local court, eviction lawsuit)
Lawyer specialising in tenancy law
Haus & Grund

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Late payment and eviction“?

From when you may terminate without notice for rent arrears, what grace-period payment does and how eviction works.

Which deadlines and figures matter?

2 consecutive payment dates: Default on the rent or on a not insignificant part of it; over a longer period: arrears equal to two months' rent (§ 543 Abs. 2 Nr. 3 BGB)
more than 1 month's rent: From these arrears the part of the rent counts as not insignificant for housing; only where two consecutive payment dates are in default (§ 543 Abs. 2 S. 1 Nr. 3 Buchst. a BGB) (§ 569 Abs. 3 Nr. 1 BGB)
2 months: Grace period after the eviction claim becomes pending (Rechtshängigkeit) (§ 569 Abs. 3 Nr. 2 BGB)

What should I do first?

Calculate the arrears: Compile the dates and amounts.
State the reason for termination: Give the reason in the letter.
Observe the grace period: Observe the two-month period after the lawsuit is pending.

What do I need to watch out for?

Eviction only with a court order; an interim injunction only in narrow cases (§ 940a ZPO).
In an eviction lawsuit for late payment, a security order can have consequences.
Mietrecht II provides for changes to grace-period payment; government draft, not current law.

Evidence

Bundesministerium der Justiz, Gesetze im Internet, § 543 BGB, retrieved 20 September 2026
Bundesministerium der Justiz, Gesetze im Internet, § 569 BGB, retrieved 20 September 2026
Bundesministerium der Justiz, Gesetze im Internet, § 940a ZPO, retrieved 20 September 2026

As of

September 2026 · Sources and method

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