Last Updated on June 27, 2021 by LawEuro
German Civil Code (BGB) German law
Subtitle 4
Usufructuary lease
Section 581
Typical contractual duties in a usufructuary lease
(1) A usufructuary lease imposes on the lessor the duty to allow the lessee, for the lease period, the use of the leased object and the enjoyment of its fruits to the extent that they are deemed to be income under the rules of proper management. The lessee is obliged to pay the lessor the agreed rent.
(2) The provisions on leases apply with the necessary modifications to usufructuary leases with the exception of farm leases, unless sections 582 to 584b lead to a different conclusion.
Section 582
Maintenance of inventory
(1) If a plot of land together with its inventory is leased under a usufructuary lease, then the lessee must maintain the individual inventory items.
(2) The lessor is obliged to replace inventory items disposed of due to a circumstance for which the lessee is not responsible. However, the usufructuary lessee must make up for the routine disposition of animals that are part of the inventory to the extent that this complies with proper management.
Section 582a
Taking over inventory at its estimated value
(1) If the usufructuary lessee of a plot of land takes over the inventory at its estimated value with the duty of returning it at its estimated value upon termination of the lease, then he bears the risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of such inventory. Within the limits of proper management, the lessee may dispose of the individual inventory items.
(2) The usufructuary lessee must maintain the inventory in a condition and replace it to an extent that complies with the rules of proper management. The items purchased by him become the property of the lessor when they are incorporated into the inventory.
(3) Upon the termination of the usufructuary lease, the lessee must return the existing inventory to the lessor. The lessor may refuse to take over those of the inventory items purchased by the lessee that are superfluous or too expensive for the plot of land under the rules of proper management; upon rejection, the ownership of the rejected items passes to the lessee. If there is a difference between the total estimated value of the inventory taken over and that to be returned, then this difference is to be compensated for in money. The estimated values are to be based on the prices valid at the time of termination of the usufructuary lease.
Section 583
Security right of usufructuary lessee over inventory
(1) The usufructuary lessee of a plot of land has a security right over the inventory items in his possession for claims on the lessor that relate to inventory included in the usufructuary lease.
(2) The usufructuary lessor may ward off the assertion of the security right of the lessee by provision of security. He may release every single inventory item from the security right by providing security in the amount of the value.
Section 583a
Restrictions on disposition of inventory
Terms of the contract that oblige the usufructuary lessee of a business not to dispose of inventory items or not to dispose of them without prior consent by the lessor or to dispose of inventory items to the lessor are only effective if the lessor agrees to acquire the inventory at its estimated value upon termination of the lease.
Section 584
Notice period
(1) If, in the usufructuary lease of a plot of land or of a right, the lease period is not specified, then notice of termination is only allowed to the end of a lease year; it must occur at the latest on the third working day of the half-year at the end of which the usufructuary lease is to end.
(2) This also applies if the usufructuary lease may be terminated for cause with the statutory notice period.
Section 584a
Exclusion of certain rights of termination under landlord and tenant law
(1) The usufructuary lessee is not entitled to the right of notice of termination determined in section 540 (1).
(2) The usufructuary lessor is not entitled to terminate the usufructuary lease under section 580.
Section 584b
Late return
If the usufructuary lessee fails to return the leased property upon termination of the usufructuary lease, then the lessor may, for the duration of the retention, demand the agreed rent as compensation in the ratio of the emoluments which the lessee took or could have taken in this period to the emoluments of the whole lease year. Assertion of additional damage is not excluded.
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