A landlord can terminate an old GDR tenancy agreement for an indefinite period even against the will of the tenant on the grounds of personal use, according to a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH). The termination is subject to the provisions of the German Civil Code (BGB) and not the stricter requirements of the former civil code of the GDR, ruled the highest German civil court in Karlsruhe (case no. VIII ZR 15/23).
The specific case involved a landlord who wanted to have an apartment in former East Berlin evicted due to personal use. The tenants relied on the tenancy agreement concluded in 1990, which, based on the GDR law in force at the time, stipulated that the tenancy could only be terminated by agreement between the contracting parties, termination by the tenant or by judicial annulment.
