Anyone know about tenants rights in Germany?

[FernieB]

Our landlord now wishes to sell the property. What are our rights as tenants? We have been in the house for 4.5 years now. Anyone any experience of this?

the landlord can sell but not till end of lease and he has to give you 2 months notice before the end that lease not being renewed. he can t just kick you out as your in a contract .

We have an unlimited lease agreement - therefore no 'end date'.

you still need to have two month notice

Your rights are VERY strong as a tenant in Germany. If you have an unlimited lease it will be difficult for him to get you out of the house, unless he can prove "eigenbedarf" which means that he wishes to use the property to live in himself.

Are you in the Mieterschutzbund? I think that they give good advice on your legal situation.

Have a look here

How good is your German?

Once you have been in the house more than 5 years, your notice will be extended from 3 months to 6 months. That will be why he is trying to get you out now rather than wait any longer.

He can only serve you notice if he is planning to use the property himself or he is forced to due to the property being 'unwirtschaftlich' - uneconomic ie. he is losing lots of money on it.

Well, he can serve you notice but cannot force you out of the house.

I would speak to Mieterschutzbund or an Anwalt.

even if he sells the rental contract continues as before. But the local Mieterverein is a good contact to ask regarding details.

Does your local Rathaus offer free advice for landlord/tenant problems? Some of them do.