Eigenbedarfskündigung: When a Landlord Can Terminate for Personal Use Under § 573 BGB

An Eigenbedarfskündigung is a landlord's termination of a residential tenancy on the ground that the landlord, a family member, or a member of the landlord's household genuinely needs the dwelling. It is one of the few ways a landlord can end an otherwise unremarkable tenancy, and German law surrounds it with more procedural detail than almost any other termination ground.

This page works through who has to actually need the flat, how the notice has to be worded and timed, the tenant's right to object, the extra restriction that applies after a building is converted into condominiums, and what happens when the stated need turns out not to have been genuine.

Information last verified on 20 July 2026. This page provides general legal information and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.

The core requirement: a genuine, specific need

§ 573 Abs. 1 BGB requires the landlord to have a berechtigtes Interesse, a legitimate interest, to end an ordinary residential tenancy at all. § 573 Abs. 2 Nr. 2 BGB defines one specific form of that interest: the landlord needs the rooms as a residence for themselves, for a member of their family, or for a member of their household.

The need has to be real at the time notice is given, not merely convenient or hypothetical. § 573 Abs. 3 BGB requires the notice itself to state the reasons for the termination, and case law built on that requirement demands specifics: which person needs the dwelling, what their relationship to the landlord is, and why this particular unit, rather than another one the landlord might own or could reasonably offer instead. A notice that simply recites the statute without naming the person and the reason does not meet the standard.

Who counts as family or household

The clearly covered category includes a spouse or registered partner, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren and siblings. These close relationships are treated as self-evidently within § 573 Abs. 2 Nr. 2 BGB without much further inquiry into the specifics of the relationship.

More distant relatives, such as nieces, nephews or cousins, and people who are not related at all but share the landlord's household in a family-like way, such as a long-term domestic partner, are not automatically excluded, but they are also not automatically included. Courts look at how close the actual personal bond is rather than applying a fixed family tree. A landlord relying on a more distant relative should expect that relationship to be scrutinised more closely than a claim involving an adult child or a parent.

The notice periods

An Eigenbedarfskündigung is an ordentliche Kündigung, an ordinary termination with notice, not an immediate one, and it follows the general notice periods in § 573c BGB.

Notice has to be given by the third business day of a calendar month to take effect at the end of the month after next, so the practical effect of these periods can run a little longer than the headline figure depending on exactly when in the month the notice is delivered.

The tenant's hardship objection

§ 574 BGB lets a tenant object to an otherwise valid Eigenbedarfskündigung where ending the tenancy would mean a hardship for the tenant, the tenant's family or another member of the tenant's household that is not justified even taking the landlord's legitimate interest into account. Courts weigh factors such as the tenant's age and health, how long the tenant has lived there, the local availability of comparable housing, and the strength of the landlord's own need against each other. § 574a BGB then governs how long the tenancy continues if the objection succeeds, which can be for a fixed period or indefinitely depending on the circumstances found.

The objection is not automatic and has strict formal requirements under § 574b BGB. It has to be declared in Textform, meaning a durable written form such as a letter or email, and it generally has to reach the landlord no later than two months before the end of the tenancy as stated in the notice. If the landlord failed to inform the tenant in time about the possibility, form and deadline for objecting, the tenant can still raise it as late as the first hearing in an eviction lawsuit.

The condominium conversion Sperrfrist

§ 577a BGB adds a separate restriction that applies when a rented building is converted into individually owned condominium units and a unit is then sold to a new owner who wants to move in. In that situation, the new owner cannot terminate for Eigenbedarf until at least three years have passed since the sale.

Where a Land government has designated an area as having a tight housing market, that three year Sperrfrist can be extended by Landesverordnung to as much as ten years. The point of the extended block is to stop a wave of conversions in high-demand cities from displacing existing tenants faster than the base three year rule would allow.

Worked example

A tenant has lived in a flat for six years and pays rent monthly. The landlord's adult daughter has accepted a job in the city and needs somewhere to live starting in eight months. Because the tenancy has run more than five years but not yet eight, the applicable notice period under § 573c BGB is six months.

The landlord sends a written notice naming the daughter, describing the job offer and the planned start date, and explaining that this particular flat is a reasonable size and location for her. Six months from the date the notice is properly given, the tenancy is due to end. The tenant, who is 71 years old and has not found comparable housing nearby, raises a hardship objection under § 574 BGB in Textform, delivered more than two months before the stated end date, pointing to age, length of residence and the tight local market. A court would then weigh those factors against the daughter's need for the specific flat rather than simply enforcing the termination as written.

When the stated need was never genuine

A landlord who terminates for Eigenbedarf but never actually moves the named person in, or whose need turns out to have been invented to get rid of an unwanted tenant, has more exposure than simply an ineffective notice. German courts have repeatedly recognised a damages claim under § 280 BGB, the general rule on compensation for breach of a contractual obligation, where the landlord's stated need was not genuine at the time of the notice or where it evaporated immediately after the tenant moved out.

The damages a displaced tenant can claim typically include the reasonable costs of moving, and the difference between the old rent and a higher rent the tenant now has to pay elsewhere, calculated for whatever period the tenant can show they would realistically have continued the original tenancy. A tenant who suspects the stated need was pretextual, for instance because the flat is re-let to a new tenant shortly after they move out, or because the named family member never actually takes up residence, should keep records of the move, the new rent and any communication suggesting the original need was not genuine.

If the tenant simply does not move out

A valid Eigenbedarfskündigung, even one that survives a hardship objection or where none was raised, does not by itself put the landlord in possession. If the tenant stays past the notice date, the landlord's only lawful route is a Räumungsklage, an eviction lawsuit, followed by court-supervised enforcement once a judgment is obtained. A landlord cannot change the locks, remove the tenant's belongings or cut off utilities to force a move, regardless of how clearly the termination was justified. The full sequence, including the enforcement stage, is covered on the page about the eviction lawsuit.

This matters for both sides of an Eigenbedarf dispute. A tenant who receives a notice they believe is invalid does not have to leave on the stated date to preserve their position, since the landlord still has to obtain a court judgment before any lawful eviction can happen. A landlord facing a tenant who disputes the termination should expect that, absent an agreement, the matter is heading toward exactly that lawsuit rather than a self-help remedy.

Documenting the need on both sides

Because so much of an Eigenbedarf dispute turns on whether the stated need was genuine and specific, both sides benefit from keeping a paper trail. A landlord relying on a family member's job offer, marriage, or change in living situation should be able to produce something concrete beyond the assertion itself, such as the correspondence or documents underlying that change. A tenant who intends to contest the termination, whether through a hardship objection or by later alleging the need was pretextual, should keep the notice itself, any prior communication with the landlord, and later evidence of what actually happened to the dwelling once the tenant moved out.

For what happens at the end of a tenancy more generally, see ending a tenancy, and for the deposit that is often at issue at the same time, see the security deposit. General background on German tenancy law is at German law explained.