Cologne (dpa / lnw) – In a dispute over the return of a rental deposit invested in shares, a housing association must, according to a Cologne court decision, return the deposit in the form of shares. The case decided by the district court of Cologne involved an 800-mark deposit that was originally deposited in 1960. The sum was taken over in a new contract in 2005. The market value of the security deposit was EUR 115,000 when the lawsuit was filed in December 2021.
A woman whose parents, who have died in the meantime, had deposited the bail had complained. The plaintiff is in principle entitled to the return of the rental security in the form of shares, the district court announced on Tuesday (Az. 203 C 199/21 of July 19, 2022). The verdict is not yet legally binding. The housing association can appeal to the district court. The court did not say which company it was.
According to the lease, the real estate company was allowed to invest the amount in its own shares, according to the court. The contract therefore provided for the shares to be issued after the end of the lease. However, the housing company should also be entitled to pay out the nominal amount of 800 marks instead of the shares.
The tenancy ended in mid-2018. When the plaintiff wanted the shares, the housing association refused. She referred to the lease and instead paid 409.03 euros, which corresponded to the original 800 marks. The woman then sued for the shares to be handed over.
The court found that the housing association’s right to choose provided for in the old rental agreement was invalid. Paragraph 551 of the German Civil Code stipulates that the tenant is entitled to income from the rent deposit, regardless of the form of investment chosen. The income from the form of investment selected here includes not only paid dividends, but also any price gains. Agreements deviating from this are ineffective.
