Hi
I foolishly agreed to let our landlord renovate the apartment while staying here. We are a 4 person shared apartment.
We signed an agreement (there were two of us) and it was clear that the agreement was signed on behalf of two people though only my name is on the contract and it says that no new people could be taken in during renovation. He knew that there were two people staying here. The shared apartment follows a system by which people come and go as it is a student apartment.
The rent was to be half the old rent during renovation but my roommate moved out. Under the impression that it was for two people I replaced him with another. The agreement also says that the lower rent would last during the duration of renovation but claiming it was a requirement in German law the period had fixed dates. The agreement also said that if renovation lasted longer than the duration the lower rent would be applicable.
Now the landlord wants to break the agreement and charge me the full rent. The rental agency has not send me any written letter or anything just an e mail with an altered agreement. It is a copy of the agreement signed with changes I was not informed of or consented to.They changed the dates and the amount that we agreed upon without my consent. They claim I broke the contract by taking in a new tenant.
They never informed me of the changes to our agreement, consulted me, or asked me.
Further they claim that renovation ended in September though I have photographic evidence that it is still going on.
They have send me a huge bill, again by e mail, asking me to pay up or they threaten to terminate the contract.
1. Is the contract still valid as they altered it without my consent?
2. Should I pay the higher rent rate in April? That would mean accepting the bill, right?
I foolishly agreed to let our landlord renovate the apartment while staying here. We are a 4 person shared apartment.
We signed an agreement (there were two of us) and it was clear that the agreement was signed on behalf of two people though only my name is on the contract and it says that no new people could be taken in during renovation. He knew that there were two people staying here. The shared apartment follows a system by which people come and go as it is a student apartment.
The rent was to be half the old rent during renovation but my roommate moved out. Under the impression that it was for two people I replaced him with another. The agreement also says that the lower rent would last during the duration of renovation but claiming it was a requirement in German law the period had fixed dates. The agreement also said that if renovation lasted longer than the duration the lower rent would be applicable.
Now the landlord wants to break the agreement and charge me the full rent. The rental agency has not send me any written letter or anything just an e mail with an altered agreement. It is a copy of the agreement signed with changes I was not informed of or consented to.They changed the dates and the amount that we agreed upon without my consent. They claim I broke the contract by taking in a new tenant.
They never informed me of the changes to our agreement, consulted me, or asked me.
Further they claim that renovation ended in September though I have photographic evidence that it is still going on.
They have send me a huge bill, again by e mail, asking me to pay up or they threaten to terminate the contract.
1. Is the contract still valid as they altered it without my consent?
2. Should I pay the higher rent rate in April? That would mean accepting the bill, right?