Termination without notice

When you may terminate without notice

You may terminate without notice if you cannot reasonably be expected to continue the tenancy until the ordinary notice period ends (§ 543 (1) BGB). The court weighs all the circumstances of the case.

This template is meant for breaches of duty, above all a lasting disturbance of the peace in the building (§ 569 (2) BGB): repeated noise, insults, threats or gross disregard for other tenants. Rent arrears follow their own rules (§ 543 (2) no. 3 BGB), where the amount and duration of the arrears decide.

If the issue is unpaid rent, the rent arrears checklist takes you from a first conversation through the reminder to termination, and the default interest calculator shows what you can claim for the delay.

Send a warning first

For a breach of duty you can usually only terminate once a warning has gone unheeded (§ 543 (3) BGB). Write it with the matching warning letter and enter its date here. If you warned twice, the termination names both letters.

Only in serious cases, such as a physical attack, is a warning unnecessary. Have such a case checked by a lawyer.

Why you also give ordinary notice

If a court finds the termination without notice invalid, the ordinary termination under § 573 (2) no. 1 BGB given as a fallback takes effect. Without it you would have to terminate again and lose months. The template declares both in one letter and states the end date for the ordinary termination.

How the deadline calculator works

If you only need the period for an ordinary termination, use the notice period calculator.

• The notice period is 3 months, after 5 years from the start of the tenancy 6 months and after 8 years 9 months (§ 573c (1) BGB).
• If the notice arrives by the third working day, that month counts. Saturday is a working day (Federal Court of Justice, VIII ZR 123/15); Sundays and public holidays in your state are not.
• Your tenant can object to the ordinary termination no later than two months before it ends (§ 574b (2) BGB).

What the termination needs

• written form with the handwritten signature of every landlord (§ 568 BGB), and with a representative the original power of attorney
• every tenant in the address field, even if only one caused the disturbance
• the flat described precisely, with floor, position and flat number
• the reasons: the warnings with their dates and the new incident with date, time and witnesses
• a handover date; the template suggests two weeks after the date of the letter
• an objection to a tacit extension of the tenancy (§ 545 BGB)
• the note that your tenant can object to the ordinary termination

How to deliver the termination

1. Print the PDF and have every landlord sign it.
2. Have a messenger who knows the content put it in the letterbox and confirm this with date and time.
3. If you expect your tenant to deny receiving it, have a bailiff deliver it.

If your tenant does not move out

If your tenant does not vacate the flat, the only route is an eviction lawsuit. Changing the lock, cutting the power or putting belongings outside is unlawful self-help and makes you liable for damages. The template announces the lawsuit in case the flat is not handed over in time.

What comes after the move-out

When your tenant moves out, you still have the handover, the deposit check and the service charge statement up to the move-out date. Claims for damage become time-barred six months after the flat is returned (§ 548 BGB), so plan the handover straight away.

• With the flat handover checklist you record condition, meter readings and keys.
• The tenant changeover checklist takes you through to the next tenant moving in.
• The calculator for service charges at a change of tenant works out the share the departing tenant pays.