Overdue Rent For German Flat-Predicament

HUMBUG

Hi All,
My brother is a freelance contractor who works in Germany for an IT company. He's been working there for over 10 years travelling back and forth to see his family in the UK every 2 weeks. But obviously, he had to rent an unfurnished flat close to work and during that 10 yr period , he furnished it with tv, cd players, beds, sofas, cupboards pictures on the wall, cutlery etc.

Now due to the IR35 rulings brought in by HMRC, the IT company have laid off all contractors and my brother (an IT project manager) cannot find a job (500 cvs sent - no response ). So he's struggling to pay his UK house mortgage and other bills.

But the worst bill is this German flat, because apparently you have to pay an extra 3 months rent even after you've officially notified the landlord that you are going to leave . And you have to pay it before they pay you back the 2 months deposit.

My brother is struggling to pay this 3 months rent and the landlord has threatened him with debt collectors , court action etc .

Plus my brother has no money to remove all the furnishings and transport them to UK or to any storage units in Germany.

I have my doubts that the landlord will pay my brother back the 2 months deposit even after he pays the 3 months rent. Couldn't he wriggle out of it by saying the flat has been left with unwanted furnishings that render it uninhabitable which will need to be removed at a cost?

What do you recommend my brother to do?

I've told my brother to put some notice outside saying "flat clearance , everything is free" . Then take a video of the flat to show its habitability in case the landlord claims otherwise. I suspect there must be something in the contract saying that the flat must not be left in a worse state than its date of first occupation.

I suspect I need to ask my brother if he has a copy of the rental contract to look at any clauses that prevent the deposit from being repaid.

[Deleted User]

HUMBUG wrote: »

Hi All,
My brother is a freelance contractor who works in Germany for an IT company. He's been working there for over 10 years travelling back and forth to see his family in the UK every 2 weeks. But obviously, he had to rent an unfurnished flat close to work and during that 10 yr period , he furnished it with tv, cd players, beds, sofas, cupboards pictures on the wall, cutlery etc.

Now due to the IR35 rulings brought in by HMRC, the IT company have laid off all contractors and my brother (an IT project manager) cannot find a job (500 cvs sent - no response ). So he's struggling to pay his UK house mortgage and other bills.

But the worst bill is this German flat, because apparently you have to pay an extra 3 months rent even after you've officially notified the landlord that you are going to leave . And you have to pay it before they pay you back the 2 months deposit.

My brother is struggling to pay this 3 months rent and the landlord has threatened him with debt collectors , court action etc .

Plus my brother has no money to remove all the furnishings and transport them to UK or to any storage units in Germany.

I have my doubts that the landlord will pay my brother back the 2 months deposit even after he pays the 3 months rent. Couldn't he wriggle out of it by saying the flat has been left with unwanted furnishings that render it uninhabitable which will need to be removed at a cost?

What do you recommend my brother to do?

I've told my brother to put some notice outside saying "flat clearance , everything is free" . Then take a video of the flat to show its habitability in case the landlord claims otherwise. I suspect there must be something in the contract saying that the flat must not be left in a worse state than its date of first occupation.

I suspect I need to ask my brother if he has a copy of the rental contract to look at any clauses that prevent the deposit from being repaid.

The notice period in Germany is 3 months for tenants so your brother is legally required to continue paying rent until the tenancy ends which is not when he informs the landlord of his intention to leave. This is no different to ending a tenancy in England or Wales. Even in Scotland where tenants only have to give 28 days notice rent is still due until the end of the notice period.

In terms of the deposit, unless your brother has damaged the property or owes rent I can't see what ground the landlord would have to withhold some or all of the deposit. That said if there is a dispute how will your brother fight it in Germany if he's back in the UK.

If a tenant in the UK was facing the same issue I would advise them to negotiate with the landlord. It doesn't make business sense for the landlord to chase someone for money who has moved back overseas so it would be easier for both parties to negotiate some kind of settlement that works for both parties. For example your brother could forgo his deposit in turn for a shorter notice period.

https://www.iamexpat.de/housing/rentals-germany/rental-contracts-housing-rights

Perhaps though your brother should ask on an ex-pat forum for people living in Germany as they would know German tenancy law better than MSEers.

Nebulous2

Has he any time to invest in it? Surely he could do a sort of garage sale, to get rid of the contents cheaply rather than giving them away?

A strategic advert and a weekend should shift most of it.

JayRitchie

Depending on which city he is in he could place a free ad on an expats website or Craigslist - lots of people need furniture etc.

SusieT

Tell him to ask on the toytown germany forum, there are plenty of people there who will help

AdrianC

Lover_of_Lycra wrote: »

In terms of the deposit, unless your brother has damaged the property or owes rent I can't see what ground the landlord would have to withhold some or all of the deposit.

The deposit could go towards unpaid rent and disposal costs of any belongings abandoned in the flat.

Ultimately, his maximum exposure is three months rent plus costs of getting the flat lettable again.

That said if there is a dispute how will your brother fight it in Germany if he's back in the UK.

The same way as the landlord will be able to chase any debts back to the UK... With difficulty.

Perhaps though your brother should ask on an ex-pat forum for people living in Germany as they would know German tenancy law better than MSEers.

Yup. This is a simple German tenancy question. The fact that the brother is a UK national is irrelevant, except insofar as he's planning to leave Germany.

IR35, however, was brought in to UK tax law in the late 1990s, precisely to counter this sort of "disguised employee". I suspect the contract termination now is more due to Brexit than IR35. This is, of course, the downside to working as a self-employed contractor - and why you need to use the higher income to build a buffer, especially if the contract means you're going to have higher living costs...

dimbo61

Hire a van and drive to. Germany where you help your brother clear his flat.
Pay the 3 months rent for him and he can repay you the deposit once he gets it back.
Clean the flat from top to bottom and make sure all rubbish is removed.
Travel back to the UK and help him apply for work in the UK.
It maybe be minimum wage but it is work while he finds something better.
That is what family does.
He needs to learn how to save

unforeseen

Actually a lot of companies are planning to dispose of Ltd Co employees because of IR35 to save them the problem of having to assess the roles. They are quite happy with Umbrellas.

The danger is that HMRC don't even agree with their assessment tools at times and there is at least one public body that got shafted because of this. Also companies been my taken to court by contractors because they incorrectly assessed the role as inside

Companies have seen the horror stories from when the public side had to bring it in and don't want any of it.

woolythoughts

If he's been in GErmany for 10 years and is affected by IR35 - he might have bigger problems as he should have been paying German tax and therefore IR35 is a moot point........

HUMBUG

dimbo61 wrote: »

Hire a van and drive to. Germany where you help your brother clear his flat.
Pay the 3 months rent for him and he can repay you the deposit once he gets it back.
Clean the flat from top to bottom and make sure all rubbish is removed.
Travel back to the UK and help him apply for work in the UK.
It maybe be minimum wage but it is work while he finds something better.
That is what family does.
He needs to learn how to save

Yes, saving is something he's never managed to do.

HUMBUG

unforeseen wrote: »

Actually a lot of companies are planning to dispose of Ltd Co employees because of IR35 to save them the problem of having to assess the roles. They are quite happy with Umbrellas.

The danger is that HMRC don't even agree with their assessment tools at times and there is at least one public body that got shafted because of this. Also companies been my taken to court by contractors because they incorrectly assessed the role as inside

Companies have seen the horror stories from when the public side had to bring it in and don't want any of it.

Yes , Vodafone was sued for many thousands - could be 100's of thousands by contractors. The result is that they have just swept away all freelance contractors (like many of the banks). Basically over 6 million contractors affected who would have to take a massive pay cut or just leave.