Ratgeber
Risks and costs
- If you do not have legal expenses insurance, you will have to bear the costs of the lawsuit yourself. But only if you lose the case, otherwise the other side will pay. This also applies to your own lawyer’s fees. If you lose in part, you have to bear the costs in the same proportion. In the event of a settlement, the costs are often split equally, but this can be negotiated.
It is difficult to estimate the costs in advance as they depend on the amount in dispute, which in turn depends on many different factors:
- How much is the overpaid rent?
- How much has been overpaid so far?
- Is the tenancy still in place?
- Is it a graduated tenancy agreement?
- How many tenants are represented?
- etc,
The risk of legal costs here is between 500 and 5,000 euros for the proceedings at first instance (including lawyers’ fees on both sides). However, there are ways to minimise the risk of legal costs, for example if not everything is claimed at once. Here, too, the individual case must be examined. If you do not have legal expenses insurance, talk to your lawyer about this in advance. Sometimes it is better to instruct the lawyer out of court first.
You have the right to use the rent control. Your landlord is not allowed to harass or evict you for this. Your landlord could try to get rid of you. But you can defend yourself against this. And it’s good if you are a member of a tenants’ association and have legal expenses insurance.