Mandatory Disclosures for Hesse Residential Landlords

Transparency is a legal requirement in Hesse. While the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch – BGB) provides the general legal foundation, specific landlord transparency and disclosure obligations—such as those regarding the Rent Brake, Energy performance, and CO₂ costs—are modern statutory additions introduced from 2015 onwards. These requirements are further augmented by the Building Energy Act (GEG), the Hessian Energy Act (HEnG), and the CO₂ Cost Sharing Act (CO₂KostAufG). Residential landlords are obligated to provide key documents and facts to potential tenants to ensure they can make an informed decision about the "true cost" of the rental.

Landlords in Hesse must comply with numerous disclosure and transparency obligations arising from federal laws, state ordinances, and specific rules for municipalities subject to the rent brake. Non-compliance can result in significant financial and legal consequences.

Overview of Key Obligations

1. Energy Certificate (Energieausweis)

Landlords must present a valid energy certificate to prospective tenants at the latest during the viewing. If the apartment is rented without a viewing (e.g., online), the certificate must be provided by lease signing.

Requirements

• The certificate must be valid (max. 10 years old)
• Property listings must include energy performance data (final energy demand/consumption, energy efficiency class, year of construction, heating type)
• Violations regarding the presentation and handover of energy certificates in Hesse can result in fines up to €15,000 (HEnG § 16)

2. Rent Brake Disclosures

In the 49 municipalities covered by the Hesse Tenant Protection Ordinance, landlords have special disclosure obligations when setting a new lease rent that exceeds the local comparative rent by more than 10%. The landlord must proactively and before the tenant submits their contractual declaration inform the tenant about the reason for the higher rent:

• Previous rent: If the prior tenant's rent was already above the permitted level (BGB § 556e)
• Modernization: If modernization was carried out (BGB § 556e (2))
• New construction: If the apartment was first occupied and rented after October 1, 2014 (BGB § 556f)

Consequences of Non-Disclosure

If the landlord fails to provide this information on time, they cannot invoke the exception to the rent brake. If the disclosure is provided late, the landlord can only rely on the exception two years after the information is finally provided (BGB § 556g (1a)).

For tenancies concluded after 1 April 2020, tenants can reclaim excess rent retroactively from the beginning of the lease, provided a qualified objection (Rüge) is issued within 30 months of the lease start. If the objection is issued after 30 months, only rent due after the objection can be reclaimed (BGB § 556g (2)).

3. Annual Operating Cost Statement

Obligation Landlords

must account for operating costs within 12 months after the end of the billing period (BGB § 556 (3))

The statement must:

• Be formally correct (total costs, allocation key, deduction of prepayments)
• Be comprehensible and verifiable
• Grant the tenant the right to inspect original receipts

Missed Deadline If

the landlord misses the 12-month deadline, they generally cannot claim any additional payment (BGB § 556 (3) sentence 3)

Conversely, the tenant does not lose their right to a credit.

4. CO₂ Cost Allocation (Since 2023)

Under the CO₂ Cost Sharing Act (CO₂KostAufG), landlords of buildings with fossil fuel heating (oil, gas) must split CO₂ costs between landlord and tenant based on the building's energy efficiency. The landlord's share increases with lower efficiency. This allocation must be transparently disclosed in the annual operating cost statement.

5. Cable TV (Since July 2024)

Since July 1, 2024, cable TV fees can no longer be passed through to tenants as part of operating costs (end of the cable TV privilege / Nebenkostenprivileg). Landlords must inform affected tenants and cancel any existing bulk contracts if applicable.

6. Lease Signing Disclosures At lease signing, landlords should provide:

• Accurate living area - A deviation of more than 10% from the contractually agreed area is considered a material defect entitling the tenant to rent reductions (BGH VIII ZR 295/03). However, for rent increases (§ 558 BGB) and operating cost billing (§ 556 BGB), the 10% tolerance rule has been abolished; landlords must use the actual living area for these calculations regardless of the size of the deviation (BGH VIII ZR 266/14).
• Property condition documentation via a handover protocol with photos
• House rules - as an attachment to the lease
• Cosmetic repair obligations - clear terms (note: rigid schedules are void per BGH rulings)

Best Practices for Landlords

1. Create a disclosure checklist for every new tenancy
2. Keep the energy certificate digital and always up to date
3. Proactively inform about rent brake exceptions before the tenant signs their declaration
4. Submit operating cost statements on time and clearly formatted
5. Document the CO₂ cost allocation correctly in the statement

Landager simplifies compliance with all disclosure obligations through automated reminders and digital document management, so you always rent out in full legal compliance.

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