Four years in prison after shooting attack: Tenant is punished for landlord's license!

Four years in prison after shooting attack: Tenant is punished for landlord's license!

A particularly shocking incident that occurred in Euskirchen caused a stir in the Cologne area. A 52-year-old tenant was sentenced to four years in prison at the Bonn regional court after he critically injured his landlord with a shot from an air pistol. The background to this dramatic conflict is as exciting as it is alarming.

The defendant had lived in a rental house in Flamersheim for 21 years. In September 2023, however, the ownership of the property changed and the new landlord gave nine months' notice to terminate the apartment due to personal use. However, the tenant refused to move out. When the landlord tried to exchange the key at the end of the notice period, the serious incident occurred. The tenant stated that he had been threatened by the landlord, but was unable to provide any evidence to support his statements.

Personal use is a frequent topic of contention

Personal use is a sensitive issue in German tenancy law. According to the tenants' association in Hamburg, there have been around 100 cases in the last three years in which legal protection insurance from the tenants' association had to be brought in. The property market is tight, leading to an increase in such cancellations. Many landlords try to rent out their apartments at a higher price or to sell them first by terminating their property for their own use. [Expert knowledge forum] summarizes that courts today impose strict requirements on terminations for personal use in order to protect tenants' rights.

In this specific case, the new landlord was unable to provide plausible reasons for his own needs, which fueled the conflict. Interestingly, according to research, many of the terminations for personal use are often faked. In at least 80 percent of suspected cases, the need may not be genuine. [Fachwissenforum] recommends having terminations checked legally and, if in doubt, seeking legal advice.

The consequences of the act

The landlord's health is worrying after the attack. The shot had fatal consequences: the projectile penetrated the pericardium and blocked an artery to the right kidney, which led to emergency operations. To this day, the landlord has not fully recovered and describes how the incident has had a massive impact on his life. The judge considered the defendant's statements to be full of contradictions and found the landlord to be emotional and credible in his descriptions.

In addition to his prison sentence, the tenant was ordered to pay the injured party 25,000 euros in compensation. An looming challenge to the ruling has at least been floated. In general, tenants should always be well informed about their rights and obligations in the event of a conflict with the landlord, especially with regard to their own needs and potential attacks, which unfortunately do not only exist in theory, as this shocking example shows.

The events in Euskirchen are further proof that tenancy disputes can sometimes end in scenes of violence and that it is essential to start a conversation and seek legal advice at an early stage. A sensible approach to one another could potentially defuse many conflicts before such terrible acts occur.