Prohibit pet ownership?

In the present case, the tenant of a one-room apartment bought after a few years a small dog, who also lived in the apartment. The landlords had added the lease contract handwritten that animal husbandry is prohibited and informed the tenant also verbally at the conclusion of the contract.

The District Court of Nuremberg ruled in favor of the tenant and stated in its verdict that the clause in the lease was not an individual agreement of both parties, but prescribed by the landlords and was not a disputed regulation. It is therefore a general business condition.

The question of whether keeping animals is allowed or not, however, should be clarified in the context of a comprehensive weighing of mutual interests on a case-by-case basis. For example, the type, number and size of the animals should be taken into account as well as the conditions on site. That has not happened in the present case.