Minor Repairs Clause

Minor Repairs Clause - The minor repairs clause is a provision included in the lease agreement that requires the tenant to bear the costs of minor repairs to certain items of the leased property. Without such a clause, the landlord is solely responsible for maintenance.

Requirements and Limits

For a minor repairs clause to be valid, it must meet several conditions according to the case law of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH). First, it may only apply to items that are subject to frequent and direct use by the tenant. These typically include faucets, mixer taps, door handles, window latches, roller shutters, light switches, electrical outlets, as well as locks and hardware. Permanently installed components of the building structure, such as heating systems, pipes within the walls, or the electrical wiring, must not be included.

The clause must include a monetary upper limit per individual repair. Current case law accepts amounts between 100 and 150 euros per individual case as reasonable. If the repair costs exceed this amount, the landlord bears the entire cost-not just the excess amount. In addition, an annual maximum limit must be set, which is typically between six and eight percent of the annual net rent excluding utilities. If either of these two limits is missing or the amounts are unreasonably high, the entire clause is invalid, and the landlord must bear all repair costs themselves.

Important: The minor repairs clause covers only the cost of repairs, not the actual performance of the repairs. The tenant is therefore not obligated to perform the repairs themselves or to hire a contractor. The organization and hiring of contractors remain the landlord’s responsibility; only the invoice is passed on to the tenant up to the upper limit.

Common Mistakes in Contract Drafting

In practice, we regularly encounter invalid minor repair clauses. A common mistake is wording that requires the tenant to cover “all repairs” or “all cosmetic repairs and minor repairs” without limiting the costs. Equally invalid are clauses that require the tenant to perform the repairs themselves, or those that include items not subject to frequent use by the tenant. Landlords should have their lease agreements reviewed regularly in light of current Federal Court of Justice (BGH) case law to avoid invalid clauses and prevent disputes.

Economic Significance for Landlords

A valid minor repairs clause is economically significant for landlords, as it shifts a portion of the ongoing maintenance costs to the tenant. In practice, minor repairs-dripping faucets, jammed door locks, defective light switches-can add up to several hundred euros per year for a single rental property. For an apartment building with five units, this can amount to €1,000-2,500 in annual costs, which can be passed on to the tenants on a pro-rata basis through an effective clause.

However, landlords retain control of the clause: they must continue to organize and commission the repairs but are reimbursed for the costs up to the limit. This creates an incentive for tenants to treat fixtures and fittings with care and reduces the need for minor jobs that incur disproportionately high contractor costs (travel, minimum labor time).

Relationship to Cosmetic Repairs

Minor repair clauses and cosmetic repair clauses are legally distinct provisions and have different requirements. Cosmetic repairs (painting, wallpapering, renovation work) pertain to cosmetic maintenance at the end of the tenancy; minor repairs pertain to ongoing mechanical damage to fixtures and fittings. A single clause may cover both areas, but it must meet the respective validity requirements for each. Invalid cosmetic repair clauses do not invalidate a separate, correctly worded minor repair clause-the two stand independently alongside one another.

Practical Tip for Nuremberg and the Metropolitan Region

In the Nuremberg metropolitan area, many landlords use standardized lease forms whose minor repairs clauses do not always comply with current case law. We recommend that landlords in Nuremberg, Fürth, Erlangen, and the surrounding area set an individual upper limit of no more than 120 euros and an annual maximum limit of six to eight percent of the annual base rent for new leases. For existing leases with outdated or invalid clauses, renegotiation is advisable at the next lease renewal. Tenants should always check submitted invoices against the limits specified in the lease agreement.

Landlords managing multiple properties in the Nuremberg region should use standardized lease templates and have them reviewed regularly-ideally every three to five years-by a real estate attorney to ensure they remain up to date. Changes in case law can render existing clauses invalid retroactively.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Minor Repairs Clause

Which repairs fall under the minor repairs clause?

Only repairs to items that the tenant regularly uses and touches are covered. Typical examples include dripping faucets, broken light switches, jammed door handles, or worn-out seals on fixtures. Damage to the heating system, windows, or the building structure is not covered by the clause, as these are not subject to frequent use by the tenant.

What happens if the repair costs exceed the upper limit?

If the cost of a single repair exceeds the upper limit specified in the lease agreement, the landlord bears the entire cost. A split arrangement, in which the tenant pays the amount up to the upper limit and the landlord pays the remainder, is not permitted. It is an all-or-nothing principle: either the costs fall within the limit, or the landlord pays in full.

Can the landlord introduce the minor repairs clause retroactively?

No, retroactive introduction without the tenant’s consent is not possible. The clause must already be part of the lease agreement at the time it is signed. A unilateral amendment to the lease agreement by the landlord is not permitted. If a minor repairs clause is to be included in an existing contract, this requires a mutually agreed-upon amendment to the contract signed by both parties.

Can the landlord combine multiple minor repairs into a single job order to circumvent the limit?

No. The upper limit applies per individual repair and per incident of damage, not per visit by a tradesperson. If several unrelated instances of damage (e.g., a dripping faucet and a broken door handle) are combined into a single visit by a tradesperson, the costs for each instance of damage must be considered separately. If each individual item is below the limit, the landlord can pass on both amounts; if one is above it, the landlord bears the full cost of that item themselves.

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