Exorbitant rent is a legal term and designates a special case of usury. Its meaning is both on criminal, and on civil area. The facts of the exorbitant rent are present, if the agreed upon rent exceeds the local comparative rent around more than 50% (within the commercial range the iurisdiction is more without uniformity frequent, than criterion an increased height around 100% mentioned). The rent stands then in a remarkable disproportion to the achievement of the landlord.

Exorbitant rent is punished with an imprisonment up to three years or with fine, in particularly heavy cases with imprisonment up to 10 years (StGB). Supplementing the prohibition of the rent increased height applies after restaurant economics (WiStG). Afterwards an irregularity is present, if the rent exceeds the local comparable rents due to the utilization of a small offer at comparable dwellings around more than 20%.

Usury is civil in Germany a Unterfall of the immoral legal transaction particularly regulated in the paragraph 2 "§ 138 BGB. In this regulation it means:

"§ 138 BGB

(1) A legal transaction, which offends against the good customs, is futile.

(2) Futile is in particular legal transaction, by which someone under exploitation of the position of constraint, to which inexperience, the lack of faculty of judgement or the substantial will weakness of another can promise or be granted or third for an achievement pecuniary benefits, in a remarkable disproportion to the achievement.

In this case agreements are ineffective regarding the rent, since the tenant in the very most cases can prove that he was in a position of constraint, when he rented the made too expensive dwelling. In addition the tenant may refuse the renting payment to the landlord, until the respective amount was adapted. The too much paid rent can reclaim the tenant in addition. The requirement for repayment falls under the statute of limitations in four years. In all other respects the lease remains in all further points effectively.

In such cases landlords often pull before court, but so far in Germany only 23 landlords got right.

Articles in category "Exorbitant rent"

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