Nebenkostenabrechnung, Mieterhöhung, Kündigung. German tenancy law is unusually tenant-friendly — but only if you notice the deadline in time.
German tenancy law gives tenants strong rights, and nearly all of them are tied to a date. A service charge settlement that arrives too late generally cannot be collected. A rent increase needs your agreement, not just an announcement. A termination is only valid if the legal reason is stated in the letter itself. The rules sit in the BGB — the letter almost never explains them.
Your annual service charge settlement: heating, water, rubbish, caretaker. Your landlord must send it within 12 months of the end of the billing period — after that a back-payment demand is generally unenforceable. You then have 12 months to raise objections.
A request that you agree to a higher rent, up to the local reference rent. It must be justified with a rent index, comparable flats or an expert report, and you have until the end of the second month after receipt to react.
A termination. A landlord needs a legal reason stated in the letter, usually Eigenbedarf. Notice periods run three, six or nine months depending on how long you have lived there, and you can object in hardship cases (§ 574 BGB).
Planned works, announced at least three months ahead, together with the rent increase to follow. You may be able to claim hardship, and rent can often be reduced while the work disrupts the flat.
Rent arrears — the one to act on immediately. Two months of unpaid rent can justify termination without notice, though full payment within two months of a court claim can still undo it.
Fourteen line items, a distribution key you have never seen before, and a figure at the bottom that ruins the month. Most tenants simply pay. A meaningful share of these statements contains items that may not be passed on to tenants at all — but finding them means reading German accounting language line by line.
xPlainly explains what your letter says. It is not legal advice. A local tenants’ association (Mieterverein) will check a service charge statement or a termination properly, usually for a modest annual membership.
No experience needed. Works with any official letter from any country.
Take a photo, upload a PDF, or paste the text. Works with tax notices, health insurance, government letters, fines — anything official.
Claude AI extracts the sender, status, amounts, deadlines, and action items — then explains everything in plain language.
Reply with Magic Reply, set a deadline reminder, export to calendar, or ask the AI anything — all in one place.
Official letters contain sensitive information. We take that seriously.
Your saved letters are encrypted on your device before they reach our EU servers (Frankfurt). The key stays with you — we can’t read your stored letters.
Analyzed on EU servers in Frankfurt, Germany. Your document content never leaves the EU.
Your letters are never used to train AI — by us or by Anthropic, Claude's creator.
Delete everything in one tap. Set auto-deletion after 1 week, 1 month, 1 year — or keep forever.
Start free. Upgrade when you need more.
Scan your letter with xPlainly. Clear explanation in your language — in seconds.