Previous landlord claiming costs from us one year after leaving

[CK22]

Hi all

We moved out of our last flat on 31st July 2023 and have had painful, ongoing discussions with the landlord regarding a number of items, mainly replacement locks and keys for one set of keys for the flat and also main entrance which we lost/misplaced. This has been dealt with via our insurance although they have only paid for half the costs due to the landlord not being able to provide satisfactory evidence of the original costs.

We received an email from the landlord (at 23:59 on 31st July 2024) relating to damages that were not stated in the Übergabeprotokoll inc:

- broken sink
- calcium buildup in toilet
- toilet flusher doesn't function correctly
- other minor damages

The landlord stated that they have replaced all these items, had a specialist company reset the toilet flusher and will now forward the invoices to us to pay. They are also asking for us to make up the difference in the costs not covered by the insurance company for the locks and keys.

The landlord still has our full Kaution.

The flat was somewhat of a mess when we moved in (we fixed it up a bit), hadn't been properly renovated for at least 30 years and these new "damages" were all present when we moved in or are, in my opinion, just normal wear and tear.

This was the first accommodation that I have rented in Germany and I'm now learning a little more about the local practices which are somewhat different to those in the UK...

I'm a bit lost in terms of where to go from here...? Back to our insurance company, a real lawyer, German Citizen's advice bureau(?), a mieterbund/verein...? Happy to fight this (bit worried about the total costs atm) but we've already been through a number of painful, time consuming rounds.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Cheers
CK

(Sorry for the very long first post. I was a long time lurker and very occasional poster on the old forum)

[LeonG]

A mieterbund will help you out for much less than the cost of a lawyer.

[CK22]

Thanks.

We‘re still corresponding with the landlord via email and have removed these additional costs by mentioning the use of lawyers. Still waiting to agree the final deposit amount to be returned…