20 years ago, the reader of the weekly Heinrich A. di M. donated about 3 hectares of agricultural land to the district for nature conservation purposes. After 30 years he regains control of the areas. Under the contract, the areas must be mulched twice a year for the first ten years, and then once a year. There has been no mulching in the past five years. Can you ask the district to fulfill this duty? The contract does not contain any information on the conditions at the time of the return of the areas. What is the legal situation?
Hubertus Schmitte, WLV, Comments: Under this contract, you have a contractual right to mulch areas once a year. You can request it from the district, if necessary with the help of a court. The district must abide by this contract.
condition of surfaces
If it were a lease of land, the lessee would have to return the area upon termination of the lease in accordance with § 596 BGB in a properly managed state. This means that a tenant must abide by the rules of proper agriculture until the end of the lease. Therefore, it must, for example, prevent excessive weed infestation of the areas with proper farming methods.
In your case, however, this is not a land lease, because you did not leave the land to the district for it to produce agricultural products, but – as we understood your request – you left the land for nature conservation purposes.
apply the tenancy law
There is no specific legal provision suitable for this type of contract. It does not represent a loan, because the loan is free. The tenancy law may apply to the legal relationship you have agreed with the district. A lease allows the tenant to use the leased property and the tenant pays a fee for this. Renting is not only possible for apartments, but also for land. The tenant’s right of use therefore lapses.
In your case you have left the area for nature conservation measures to the district. So there was no intention of bearing fruit. The tenancy law stipulates in § 546 BGB that the tenant is obliged to return the leased property after the end of the tenancy. The law itself says nothing about the conditions of the leased property, but the jurisprudence has developed the following principles: The condition of the leased property must correspond to the contractual agreement at the end of the lease period. Failing this, the leased property must be returned correctly, or – except for changes resulting from contractual use – in the same conditions in which it was delivered.
Contractual use
In your case, this means that the district is not obliged to undo all changes that have occurred over time and to return the area to its original state. Because the changes that have resulted from the contractual use can remain. However, it must be assumed that such contractual use corresponds to all contractual agreements.
The area must then be returned to you in a condition that is as it would be if it were mulched annually. The failure of the district to do so is not at your expense. However, the fact that, for example, some vegetation has developed corresponds to the contractual use by the district. This does not need to be removed.
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(episode 40-2022)
