Cities and municipalities are now taking greater action against owners who leave rental apartments unused. When and where do the authorities act and how can legal disputes be avoided?
Demonstration against high rents: In many places, living space is scarce and expensive. Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa
Frankfurt. An empty apartment has always been an economic problem for owners: there is no rental income while ongoing costs are incurred.
Now there is a legal risk in more and more housing markets, where the situation is particularly tense. The number of cities, municipalities and federal states in which the responsible authorities are taking tough action is increasing: they are imposing high fines or penalty payments for unused living space.
This brings new financial risks for landlords. They should know where severe punishments are threatened and how best to behave if the case arises. The Handelsblatt provides an overview of where authorities impose high fines and how owners can best avoid conflicts.
How big is the problem in Germany?
Although the demand for living space in Germany is very high, many apartments remain unused. According to a recently published analysis by the analysis company Empirica, around 1.7 million apartments in this country were empty at the end of 2024. That's four percent of the entire housing stock. However, forecasts also show that vacancies in some regions are likely to increase by 2045.
The regional differences are enormous. Buildings in rural or less well-connected regions are often empty - especially in eastern Germany. For example, the highest vacancy rates in the multi-family house segment determined in the study are in the Altenburger Land district and the Zwickau district.
In metropolitan areas, where there is a lack of affordable housing, the vacancy rate is comparatively low. Nevertheless, cities are targeting speculative vacancies more than before, where living space is taken away in order to achieve a higher price when it is later sold. The background: Buyers generally pay significantly less for rented apartments than for unrented ones.
Where is vacancy pursued more strictly?
The authorities are particularly consistent in their approach in large cities, as the law on misappropriation is correspondingly strict due to the scarcity of living space. Berlin is the most prominent example of this - the ban on the misuse of living space applies to the entire city.
Since it was tightened, living space can generally only be left empty for three months without a permit. After that, a permit may be required, especially since the Berlin authorities can impose fines of up to 500,000 euros for violations.
Rural region in eastern Germany: Many houses and apartments cannot be rented, especially there. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa
Other metropolises are following this example, such as Munich: In Germany's most expensive city, fines can be imposed if apartments are left empty for more than three months. As in Berlin, an owner in the Bavarian metropolis can be fined up to 500,000 euros per residential unit if the property is vacant.
In Hamburg, the period from which the authorities are allowed to take action is over four months. A vacancy is then viewed as misappropriation. In Cologne, Düsseldorf, Bonn, Münster, Aachen, Dortmund and Dormagen, a housing protection statute now also applies, which ultimately also provides for fines if living space remains unused.
Hesse has also joined the authorities' trend of taking tougher action against owners who leave living space empty. In the future, local authorities will be able to decide that owners must report unrented apartments and justify this. Although no municipality had implemented such a statute until the summer, Frankfurt is preparing a corresponding regulation.
What are the reasons for vacancies?
But the vacancy of living space is not always synonymous with speculation, as political and public discussions often suggest. The 2022 census will provide detailed nationwide data for the first time.
For example, renovation work on one in four apartments ensured that it was not rented out. This proportion is particularly high in older apartments. At the same time, around one in five empty apartments was empty for less than three months - a period that can often be explained by a change of tenant, renovation or new rental.
Construction measures: They also often lead to vacancies. Photo: E+/Getty Images
In addition, there are apartments and houses in need of renovation in regions where refinancing modernization through rent is hardly possible, “because even the legally possible modernization rent increase cannot be realized on the market,” according to a Pestel study.
How should landlords deal with vacancies?
The fines are a new risk for landlords. Anyone who renovates an apartment after a tenant has moved out and advertises it again after four weeks usually has little to fear. On the other hand, anyone who leaves an apartment empty for months and cannot provide a comprehensible explanation will find themselves in trouble with the authorities in many places.
Lawyer Benjamin Schreiber from the law firm of the same name therefore says that it makes sense if owners can provide comprehensible evidence of their actions. Without sufficient documentation, it is possible that the authorities will often assume that the misuse is not permitted. In order to refute this accusation, construction times, cancellations, insurance processes and reports should be proven.
“Correspondence, contracts, invoices, reports, proof of appointments or official documents increase the likelihood that the city will recognize the vacancy as a permissible exception,” says lawyer Schreiber. The owner should also know the period from which the authorities are legally allowed to take action.
What exceptions can landlords make?
Landlords should better actively seek discussions with the city if it is foreseeable that the vacancy will last longer. Exceptional permits are usually possible, especially if necessary repairs for owners take a long time or there are inheritance disputes that delay rental.
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If the apartment is empty because it is being extensively renovated, modernized or converted, the vacancy may be permissible. What is crucial, however, is that the work is actually carried out and quickly. If the property is vacant for a long period of time, Berlin requires appropriate evidence, such as construction plans or schedules.
If an apartment is uninhabitable due to significant damage, this can also justify leaving it vacant for a longer period of time. Munich, for example, recognizes that rooms with serious defects or unacceptable environmental conditions are not considered living space under certain conditions.
Is a sale a sufficient reason?
A common exception also applies to properties that are in the process of being sold. If an apartment or house is actively offered for sale and the vacancy is necessary to enable viewings or a smooth handover, this can be considered a permissible reason.
Housing shortage: In justified exceptions, such as renovation, permits can be issued for long-term vacancies. Photo: IMAGO/Jürgen Heinrich
Munich, for example, expressly mentions as an exception the case where living space “is to be sold soon” and is therefore temporarily empty. But that doesn't mean that an owner can simply leave an apartment empty for years because they want to sell at some point.
The more concrete and demonstrable the intention to sell is, the better, for example through a brokerage order, sales documents or documented marketing activities.
Personal hardship or no interested tenant
Furthermore, in certain cases the authorities usually take personal hardship reasons into account. These include long-term illnesses, a need for care or extraordinary family stress. All of these reasons can make it impossible for the owner to rent or manage the apartment.
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This exception is also interesting for landlords: If no tenant can be found for an apartment despite suitable rental efforts, vacancy may be permitted. However, anyone who offers an apartment at an obviously unrealistic price and then argues that no tenant has been found is likely to be significantly less listened to.
For landlords, this means that long-term vacancies should be explainable, documented and, if necessary, approved in the future. Anyone who takes this principle to heart not only reduces the risk of a fine. It also prevents an initially harmless vacancy from turning into an expensive legal dispute with the municipality.
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