Overview
- A Berlin local court (Amtsgericht Schöneberg) found GSW Immobilien, a Vonovia subsidiary, violated the duty to act economically by passing on excessive building‑insurance costs.
- Vonovia billed 36¢ per m² in 2021, 39¢ in 2022 and 45¢ in 2023, compared with about 23¢ per m² reported as the Berlin average.
- The plaintiff in the case will be reimbursed about €500, with the court drawing on regional cost benchmarks to judge reasonableness.
- Finanztip estimates a 60 m² tenant could reclaim roughly €367 for 2021–2023 and says the ruling could serve as a precedent for thousands of contracts.
- The Berliner Mieterverein is pressing Vonovia to correct 2021–2023 bills and repay tenants, citing reports that the pooled policy covers roughly 140,000 Berlin units.