Schönheitsreparaturen: Must I Renovate When Moving Out? (2026)

What are Schönheitsreparaturen – and do you have to do them?

By law, you do not have to renovate when you move out. Maintaining the rented property is the landlord's duty (§ 535 Abs. 1 BGB), and wear from ordinary, contractual use is also borne by the landlord (§ 538 BGB). A duty to renovate only falls on you if a valid Schönheitsreparaturen (cosmetic repairs) clause in the Mietvertrag (lease) shifts that duty onto you.

And this is the decisive point: in recent years the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH, the Federal Court of Justice) has struck down a great many of these clauses. If the clause in your contract is void, the duty falls back to the landlord – and you have to paint nothing on move-out.

Schönheitsreparaturen are narrowly defined. Under § 28 Abs. 4 of the II. Berechnungsverordnung, they cover:

• papering and painting walls and ceilings
• painting radiators and heating pipes
• painting interior doors, and windows and exterior doors from the inside

They do not include repairs to the building fabric, sanding parquet, filling a normal number of drill holes, or removing ordinary traces of use. That is wear and tear the landlord bears.

When is the clause in the Mietvertrag void?

If even one of the following applies, the Schönheitsreparaturen clause is, as a rule, void – and you owe nothing:

The flat was handed over unrenovated

If you took over the flat unrenoviert (unrenovated) at the start and received no adequate compensation for it (for example rent-free time or a clear reduction), then a clause imposing Schönheitsreparaturen on you is void. The BGH ruled this on 18 March 2015 (VIII ZR 185/14). The reasoning: otherwise you would have to repair the previous tenant's wear as well.

Important: in a dispute, you must prove that the flat was unrenovated at the start of the tenancy. An Übergabeprotokoll (handover protocol) with move-in photos is invaluable here.

The contract contains rigid deadlines

If the clause prescribes fixed renovation intervals – such as "kitchen and bathroom every three years, living rooms every five years" – regardless of the actual condition, it is void. Such starre Fristen (rigid deadlines) would force you to paint even when the flat still looks fresh. Only flexible wording such as "as a rule" or "depending on wear" is permitted.

There is a pro-rata payment clause

Some contracts require you, on an early move-out, to pay a share of the next renovation that is not yet even due. The BGH has likewise declared such Quotenabgeltungsklauseln (pro-rata payment clauses) void (18 March 2015, VIII ZR 242/13).

Important: A void clause does not just strike out the one offending point – it causes the entire Schönheitsreparaturen duty to fall away and revert to the landlord. In that case you do not have to paint on move-out. Do not sign a renovation agreement and do not pay any settlement before you have had your clause checked.

Valid or void? The quick comparison

Wording in the Mietvertrag	As a rule
Flat handed over unrenoviert, no compensation	void
Rigid deadlines ("every 3 years, fixed")	void
Pro-rata payment on early move-out	void
Mandatory final colour (e.g. "white only, compulsory")	mostly void
Flexible deadlines ("as a rule", "depending on wear")	mostly valid
Flat handed over renovated, flexible clause	mostly valid

Common mistakes tenants make

• Painting too soon. Many renovate voluntarily on move-out even though the clause was void – work (and money) you could have saved.
• Paying a settlement without a check. A landlord's demand in the Übergabeprotokoll is not a legal obligation. Check the clause first.
• No proof from move-in. Without photos or an Übergabeprotokoll from move-in, the unrenovated condition is hard to prove later.
• Confusing wear with damage. You never have to replace normal wear and tear – only genuine damage that goes beyond contractual use.

With HausMaus it's simpler

HausMaus is free for tenants and checks the Schönheitsreparaturen clause in your Mietvertrag. The app compares the wording against BGH case law and shows you whether your clause is likely void – for instance because of starre Fristen, a Quotenabgeltung, or a flat handed over unrenoviert. So before you move out, you know whether you actually owe any renovation at all – before you reach for a paintbrush or your wallet.