| Abstrakt: |
This article explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the landlord-tenant relationship, with a focus on a case decided by the German Federal Court of Justice. The court ruled that tenants cannot withhold rent payments entirely during lockdowns but can seek a revision of the rent due. Factors considered by the court include the tenant's financial loss, the duration of the closure, and the tenant's ability to mitigate the loss through other sources of income. The article suggests that global and systemic responses are necessary to address the challenges posed by the pandemic and examines the applicability of emergency legislation in Italy. The text discusses various legal provisions and perspectives in Germany and Italy regarding the obligations of landlords and tenants during lockdown measures. It highlights differences between German and Italian law, particularly regarding concepts such as defects in the rented property, impossibility of performance, and the rebus sic stantibus doctrine (hardship). Under Italian law, parties can seek termination or renegotiation of a contract if one party's performance becomes excessively burdensome due to exceptional and unpredictable events. However, Italian scholarship excludes the application of hardship in cases like the COVID-19 pandemic, as it does not alter the relationship between the value of the landlord's performance and the tenant's performance. Italian case law allows for a reduction in rent in cases of partial impossibility of performance, with the court determining the reduction if contested by the landlord. Overall, the protection provided to tenants by the German Federal Court of Justice aligns with the approach taken by Italian [Extracted from the article] |
