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Sect. 1 Non-permission of service charges

Until the successful brokerage (conclusion of a tenancy agreement or letting agreement) the services of e-rent Immobilien Dr. Wirth KG (MWZ im Rheinland) are free of charge (pursuant to Sect. 3, Subsections 2 and 3 Wohnraumvermittlungsgesetz [German housing brokerage law]). If brokerage is successful the tenant is subject to commission fees.

Sect. 2 Commission rates

The basis for the calculation of the commission is the legal nature of the brokered tenancy agreement. The following rules shall apply: For each tenancy of unlimited/open duration the commission rate is 1.5 monthly rents plus VAT.
For reasons of fair dealing and with regard for clients with shorter tenancy agreements we offer these clients a graded payment. The grading is based on the actual duration of the tenancy agreement. The basis for the calculation is the actual duration of the tenancy as follows:

The offer of a graded payment depending on the duration of the tenancy shall be revoked and replaced by the payment of the fixed commission of 1.5 monthly rents plus VAT in the following cases: attempted fraud, false or misleading statements about the tenancy, non-payment of parts of the commission (see Sect. 7), the obvious attempt to delay payments by means of the grading agreement, false or omitted notification (see Sect. 3) of a successful brokerage.

The payment obligation according to the temporal grading terminates with the actual duration of the tenancy.

In all cases, the basis for the calculation is the amount stated as the monthly rent by the landlord to e-rent (be it in the form of a rent excluding heating and additional costs, a rent including heating costs, a rent including additional but not heating costs or a fixed rent).

In the case of short-term tourist tenancy agreements (i.e. less than one month) the commission rate of 25% (plus VAT) shall not refer to a monthly rent but to the actual rent due.

Sect. 3 Obligation to notify

(a) Obligation to notify / successful brokerage: If a tenancy agreement between the offering party and the tenant is concluded through the brokerage of e-rent (or through the "opportunity to conclude an agreement" etc.)- be it through a written or an oral arrangement - e-rent has to be notified immediately.
In the case of the infringement of this notification clause e-rent can oblige the client to provide information (Bundesgerichtshof [Federal High Court of Justice], 1990). Any costs arising from the infringement of the obligation to notify shall be claimed in the form of compensation for unnecessary inquiries. E-rent shall not be obliged to limit the costs. All costs incurred for factual inquiries (in concrete terms: also the claims of commercial investigation agencies) can be claimed.
(b) b. Notification period: The notification period shall be 3 working days (from the date when the respective proceedings were agreed).

Sect. 4 Due date / commission

A commission shall be paid if the offering party and the tenant conclude an agreement. The payment shall be due when the agreement is concluded (not after the date of the actual beginning of the agreement).

Sect. 5 Same offering party - different object

It is not the e-rent´s task to broker a certain object, but to provide an opportunity to conclude an agreement (Bundesgerichtshof [Federal High Court of Justice], 1991). Accordingly, e-rent can also claim a commission if a tenancy agreement is concluded for an alternative object of the landlord/offering party.
The commission rate shall be determined based on the nature of the accepted offer.

Sect. 6 Duty to observe secrecy

The client shall be obliged not to pass on offers received by e-rent to any third parties. In the case of unauthorised disclosure of information the client shall be liable to e-rent for damages (Bundesgerichtshof [Federal High Court of Justice], 1987). The amount of the payable damages shall be equivalent to the commission for the disclosed offer.
Excluded from that are brokerages commissioned on behalf of a third party. The disclosure of the received information shall then be strictly limited to the person/-s for whom the brokerage has been commissioned. In these cases the formal commissioning party (company, parents, authorities etc.) shall additionally be liable for the respective person/-s (employees, children, applicants etc.) to comply with the above clause.
Persons passing on the information (in particular legal persons) shall not be liable with regard to a certain third party but for all agreements concluded due to the disclosure.

Sect. 7. Extensions of tenancies

For tenancy agreements of unlimited duration/open tenancies the following shall apply: extensions, due to their nature, shall not be regarded as second agreements but as possibilities within the underlying tenancy agreement.

If a graded commission has been paid according to the actual duration of the tenancy, extensions are only free of charge if the commission for the underlying agreement has been fully paid. The payments of the previous months shall be understood accordingly as partial payments of the final commission.

As stated in Sect. 2 above, the calculation according to the legal nature of the tenancy agreement (1.5 monthly rents plus VAT) shall apply immediately if further payments according to the grading are not made.

Sect. 8 Photographic illustration

By illustrating objects with photographic material e-rent does not deviate from the level as a broker supplying information. Any claims arising from the wrong assignment of photographic material or from differences between the picture and the actual condition of the respective object shall therefore be excluded.
The client is in any case strongly recommended to assure him-/herself of the condition of the object independent of the photographic material (inquiry to the offering party, direct viewing etc.).

e-rent Immobilien Dr. Wirth KG
(MWZ im Rheinland)
Trade Register/Cologne HR A 14601