Landlord Legal Protection Insurance in Germany [Vermieter­rechtschutz­]

Key takeaways

• Landlord legal protection insurance covers the costs arising from legal disputes you may encounter as a landlord. For example, legal disputes with tenants or the authorities.
• Legal protection insurance in Germany usually has a waiting period of 3 months.
• Landlord legal insurance costs between 261 € and 372 € per annum. 
• Legal insurance cost depends on the annual rent, deductible, area, and the services you opt for.
• You can deduct the landlord legal insurance costs from your taxes.

This is how you do it

• As a landlord, you should have a legal protection insurance policy. It can save you thousands of euros and stress in the future.
• In our comparison and test, we found the legal insurance plans of Arag*—Aktiv-Premium, WGV—Optimal PBV, and KS / Auxilia—Jurprivat the best. You can compare the tariffs from these companies on Tarifcheck* and Verivox*.
• If you want an English service, check legal insurance from Feather* and Getsafe*. Feather and Getsafe are insurance agents and sell Roland’s legal insurance plans.
• If protection against rent loss is important for you, you can get a legal insurance policy that covers it.
• You can also become a member of the homeowners’ associations. They offer out-of-court services for free to their members. Moreover, there is no waiting period.

Table of Contents

What is landlord legal insurance (Vermieterrechtsschutzvesicherung)?

Landlord legal protection insurance covers the costs of legal disputes related to your rented property. If you rent out a property, you must expect disputes with the tenant sooner or later.

The dispute could be an outstanding rent, contract termination, property repair, etc. So, having a legal insurance policy can save you thousands of euros in legal costs.

Is landlord legal protection insurance worth it in Germany?

If you are a landlord in Germany, we recommend getting landlord legal insurance. To give you a number, 180k cases were filed in 2022 related to the disputes between the landlord and the tenant. 

The lawyer fees will be a few hundred euros for resolving the dispute out-of-court. But if the matter goes to court, the legal expenses can quickly add up to thousands of euros.

Here are some common disputes between landlords and tenants in Germany.

• Dispute on rent increase or utility bills.
• The tenant refuses to accept your notice of rental contract termination for personal use.
• The tenant stops paying the rent. In this case, you’ll lose rental income and it may cost thousands in legal fees.

In our comparison and test, we found that Arag*—Aktiv-Premium, WGV—Optimal PBV, and KS-Auxilia*—Jurprivat are the best legal insurance plans.

Unfortunately, no legal insurance provider in Germany offers services in English. Insurance agents like Feather* and Getsafe* offer basic English support. However, when you need legal advice, you must contact the insurance company, which only offers advice in German.

Feather and Getsafe sell Roland’s legal insurance plans. Roland is rated very good by DISQ (rating agency).

NOTE: Top rating agencies in Germany rated Arag—Aktiv-Premium, WGV—Optimal PBV, and KS / Auxilia—Jurprivat as the best legal insurance plans in Germany.

What does legal insurance for landlords cover?

All legal protection insurance in Germany usually has a waiting period of three months.  Disputes that arise during this period are not covered.

Once the waiting period is over, landlord legal insurance covers the following conflicts

• Rent increase
• Property damage
• Tenant no longer pays the rent
• The tenant reduces the rent for some reason. You do not agree to the rent reduction and need legal support.
• Issues with the utility bills. For example, the tenant doesn’t agree to increased utility costs.
• Security deposits
• Rental contract termination due to personal use
• Dispute with the tax office
• Disputes with municipal authorities. For example, disputes over waste disposal fees

You must first inform your legal protection insurer about the dispute. If your insurer confirms the legal costs coverage, you should move forward with the dispute. 

Moreover, you should get a written confirmation of coverage from the legal insurance company before hiring a lawyer.

The legal costs your landlord legal insurance will cover depend on your contract. But in general, the insurer covers the following costs:

• Initial legal advice
• Legal fees, in and out of court
• Court costs
• Enforcement of an eviction order
• Costs for experts and witnesses

Good legal protection insurance for landlords also covers

• Tax legal protection in court (as soon as the objection is made)
• Out-of-court settlement through mediation 
• The insurer pays the rent you lost during the legal proceedings 
• Contractual disputes with craftsmen and service providers

What does landlord legal protection insurance not cover in Germany?

Many things can go wrong when you own a property. Landlord legal insurance doesn’t cover all the issues.

Here are some examples that are not covered by landlord legal insurance. 

• Suppose you fail to clean the snow in front of the house. A passer-by slips on the floor and hurts themselves. In this case, they may claim compensation. For such cases, you need landlord liability insurance. Legal insurance won’t help.
• Issues with a decision by the home-owners’ association.
• Issues with the neighbors
• Damage to the property caused by water, fire, storms, etc. For this, you need residential building insurance. If you own an apartment, the house union already has this insurance.
• If the damage due to water or fire is caused by the tenant, residential building insurance will claim the money from the tenant. You don’t have to do anything.

In short, you need three types of insurance as a landlord in Germany.

• Landlord legal insurance: It covers disputes with tenants.
• Landlord liability insurance (Haus-grundbesitzerhaftpflicht): It covers the damages caused to others.  It pays if someone gets injured due to defects in your property. 
• Residential building insurance (Wohngebäudeversicherung): It covers the damages caused to your property. Your house union takes this insurance if you own an apartment. If you own a house, you must get it.

Services good landlord legal protection insurance covers

Good landlord legal protection insurance should cover

• Free initial telephone consultation
• Mediation
• Lawyer’s fee
• Court costs
• Cost of opposition’s legal costs if you lose.
• Include tax legal protection to cover the disputes with the tax office.
• Comprehensive plans also include compensation for the lost rent.
• Some insurance providers also offer legal advice on the phone in areas that are not insured.

In our comparison and test, we found that Arag*—Aktiv-Premium, WGV—Optimal PBV, and KS-Auxilia*—Jurprivat are the best legal insurance plans.

Unfortunately, no legal insurance provider in Germany offers services in English. Insurance agents like Feather* and Getsafe* offer basic English support. However, when you need legal advice, you must contact the insurance company, which only offers advice in German.

Feather and Getsafe sell Roland’s legal insurance plans. Roland is rated very good by DISQ (rating agency).

How much does landlord legal insurance cost in Germany?

The contributions for landlord legal protection depend on the property’s location, annual rental income, and services.

Here is the cost of landlord legal insurance for an apartment in Berlin with a gross annual rent of 12k €.

Deductible	Insurance premium (€ per annum)
None	372 €
150 €	308 €
300 €	261 €

Source: Check24 as of March 2024

Can you deduct the landlord legal insurance premium from taxes?

Yes, the contributions for landlord legal protection can be fully tax deductible. You have to submit the insurance contract or the receipt of payment to the tax office as proof.

NOTE: You cannot pass the costs of your legal protection insurance to your tenant.

Alternatives to Landlord Legal Protection Insurance in Germany

Like tenants’ associations, there are homeowners’ associations in Germany. You can take its membership.

Here are the benefits of homeowners’ association membership.

• It’s relatively cheaper than the legal protection insurance. It costs between 50 € and 200 € per annum.
• The members get all the out-of-court services for free.
• You can even get discounted legal insurance via your membership.
• There is no waiting period.

References

• https://www.devk.de/produkte/rechtsschutz/wohnungsrechtsschutz/vermieterrechtsschutz.jsp
• https://www.finanztip.de/rechtsschutzversicherung/vermieterrechtsschutz/
• https://www.sparkasse.de/pk/ratgeber/wohnen/vermieten/vermieterrechtsschutz.html
• https://www.verivox.de/rechtsschutzversicherung/vermieterrechtsschutz/
• https://www.check24.de/rechtsschutzversicherung/vermieterrechtsschutz/