What Happens to the Lease When a Tenant Dies?

What the Law Says

German law provides clear rules for what happens to a residential tenancy when the tenant dies. Rather than ending automatically, the lease may continue under certain people — or be terminated quickly by either side.

Under German civil law, the death of a tenant does not automatically end the rental agreement. Instead, the law prioritizes housing stability for close family members and long-term cohabitants who shared the apartment with the deceased tenant.

The primary rule is found in BGB § 563: it grants a legal right of 'entry' (Eintrittsrecht) into the lease for specific people — first the spouse or registered life partner living in the same household, then children or other family members (e.g., parents, siblings), and finally anyone else who shared a lasting, joint household with the tenant — but only if no higher-priority person enters.

Importantly, this entry is not automatic in practice: those entitled must actively choose to stay — unless they explicitly reject it within one month of learning about the tenant’s death. If they do reject it, the entry is treated as never having happened.

Even if someone does enter the lease, the landlord still has a narrow window — one month after learning that the entry is final — to terminate the lease extraordinarily if there’s a 'serious reason' (wichtiger Grund), such as evidence the new occupant poses a risk to the property or other tenants.

Separately, BGB § 580 gives both the landlord *and* the tenant’s heirs the right to terminate the lease extraordinarily at any time — but only within one month of learning about the tenant’s death. This option exists regardless of whether anyone enters the lease under § 563.

Statutory Text

(1) Der Ehegatte oder Lebenspartner, der mit dem Mieter einen gemeinsamen Haushalt führt, tritt mit dem Tod des Mieters in das Mietverhältnis ein.

— BGB § 563(1) — German Civil Code

Statutory Text

(3) Erklären eingetretene Personen innerhalb eines Monats, nachdem sie vom Tod des Mieters Kenntnis erlangt haben, dem Vermieter, dass sie das Mietverhältnis nicht fortsetzen wollen, gilt der Eintritt als nicht erfolgt.

— BGB § 563(3) — German Civil Code

Statutory Text

Stirbt der Mieter, so ist sowohl der Erbe als auch der Vermieter berechtigt, das Mietverhältnis innerhalb eines Monats, nachdem sie vom Tod des Mieters Kenntnis erlangt haben, außerordentlich mit der gesetzlichen Frist zu kündigen.

— BGB § 580 — German Civil Code

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