Noise caused by dogs in a dog playground in a residential area is reasonable as long as it does not exceed the applicable immission guide values. This was decided by the Berlin Administrative Court (VG 24 K 148.19). A resident had complained about noise pollution and the alleged use of the dog playground outside of the specified opening hours, which was operated by the Lichtenberg district office in...
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The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig has declared the resident parking fee statutes of the city of Freiburg im Breisgau invalid (case no.: BVerwG 9 CN 2.22). The ruling concerns the statute that came into force on December 14, 2021, which introduced a gradual parking fee structure based on vehicle length. Discounts for certain groups of people were also provided for. However, the BVerwG found that...
The Berlin Administrative Court has ruled that a furniture retailer in Germany that operates exclusively online may not employ its customer service staff on Sundays and public holidays (AZ: VG 4 K 311/22). The retailer currently provides its customer service on Sundays and public holidays mainly via call centers in Poland and Ireland. His application for permission to work on Sundays for...
If a property belongs to a third party and is used to promote the unconstitutional activities of an association, it can only be seized and confiscated if it can be proven that the third party acted with intent. In particular, the third party must have the intention of supporting the association's prohibited activities by transferring its property to the association. This was recently decided by the...
The Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) has clarified that the tax relief under Section 35a of the Income Tax Act does not apply to a home emergency call system without direct emergency assistance (case reference: VI R7/21). The case in question involved a home emergency call system that only provides a 24-hour connection to a service center. The plaintiff had installed a corresponding home emergency call system in her home....
An "outer area island", which is part of the settlement area, may be included in an inner development plan in accordance with Section 13a BauGB. This applies to undeveloped open spaces within a local area that were previously used as green spaces. This was decided by the Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG) (AZ: BVerwG 4 CN 5.21). In the present case, the applicant was the owner of...
The Hanau District Court recently emphasized the indivisible unity of apartment and garage when renting a property at the same time. Despite two separately signed contracts, the court ruled that a separate termination of the garage lease by the landlord is not permissible. In the case in question, a landlady had signed an apartment rental agreement and a garage rental agreement with...
Hairdressers that were closed during the first lockdown in spring 2020 are not entitled to compensation for loss of income. This was recently decided by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) (III ZR 41/22). In this case, a self-employed hairdresser had filed a lawsuit. She claimed compensation for the six-week closure of her business as part of the fight against the pandemic...
A landlord may give extraordinary notice of termination to the partner of an original tenant if he conceals her death. This was decided by the Munich Local Court (AZ: 417 C 9024/22). In this case, the local court ordered an eviction period of several months and obliged the partner (defendant) to return the apartment. In 1975, the original tenant had...
In some cases, travelers do not have to pay for their trip if the travel agency has made gross mistakes in the planning and the trip can therefore not be continued. This was decided by the Munich Local Court (AZ: 114 C 8563/22). In this case, a family wanted to travel with their Chihuahuas in the passenger cabin from Munich via Zurich to Dubai. However, the family was denied boarding by the...