Revised rental conditions for dormitories

Update 19 February 2021 of news from 1 April 2020:
After special rental conditions were temporarily introduced last year for residents in need, the regular conditions now apply again. This also applies, for example, to the period of notice, which is now two months again, as stipulated in the contract. The special regulation on subletting is still maintained. At present, subletting is therefore not permitted. In order to continue to mitigate social hardship during the pandemic, Studierendenwerk continues to offer individual assistance to residents in need. This can be arranged with the Housing Office in cases of proven need.

News from 1 April 2020

In order to continue to mitigate social hardship during the pandemic, Studierendenwerk continues to offer individual assistance to residents in need. This can be arranged with the Housing Office in cases of proven need.

The Corona pandemic currently has substantial ramifications for everyone’s professional as well as personal everyday life. The loss of jobs to finance one‘s livelihood, the delay of the beginning of the semester, the cancelling of exams and the entry ban for countries that are high risk areas, have had a considerable impact on our dormitories‘ tenants and their tenancies.
It is our goal to alleviate cases of social hardship, which have been caused by the protective measures to contain the Corona epidemic. The measures are as follows.

Waiving of the notice period
Tenants who need or want to leave their rental objects due to Corona restrictions on short notice, currently do not have to abide by the notice period. The tenant can move out immediately. The reason for the cancellation needs to be added on the informal cancellation,
Reasons could be, e.g.:
- returning home due to the Corona pandemic
- discontinuing studies due to the repercussions of the Corona pandemic
- financing of the rental payment is no longer ensured (e.g. loss of job due to the protective measures to contain the Corona epidemic).
as well as the date to which the cancellation is to be effective.

Extensions without complying to the regular extension guidelines
Tenants, who, due to the Corona restrictions cannot leave their rental object, can apply for an exceptional extension (even if they do not comply to the regular extension guidelines).
The request is to be handed in with the following reason noted: ‚Extension due to Corona pandemic‘. The application can be informal, an e-mail is sufficient, if the reason for the extension request has been provided. There is currently no deadline for handing in the application. The exceptionally extended rental period can be up until 30th September 2020.
Reasons for an exceptional extension may be:

- due to the deferral of the exam period, exams could not be taken and the studies are being prolonged
- new accommodation can/could not be found, e.g. because an internship was cancelled on short notice
- returning to home country currently not an option

Should the currently rented room already have a new tenant, other options within the dormitory will be checked for. Alternatively, other dormitories will also be checked for available rooms. These checks and potential allocations need to take place individually according to availability. Should there not be sufficient available accommodation, the applications will be processed in the order of their arrival. Both tenants, as well as the occupancy committee (Belegungsausschuss) and the janitor will be informed accordingly.

New sub-tenancies will be declined
The rapid spreading of the Corona virus in these past few days is alarming. We need to do all we can in our dormitories to avoid an erratic increase of case numbers and protect our tenants from infection, where possible. To achieve this, reducing contacts is crucial. This is the reason why we cannot accept any requests for sub-tenancies at this point in time.
However, to enable our tenants to attend internships and not having to be burdened with paying double the rent, we are offering a hiatus from their rental period. Simply note „rental period hiatus“ on the cancellation. Subsequently, the tenant will receive a confirmation of the rental period hiatus with further instructions/ information on what to do prior to their return.

Cancellations by the main tenant while having a sub-tenant
Should the main tenant cancel the contract for their rental object, we will allow the sub-tenant to stay for the remainder of their sub-tenancy agreement. The sub-tenant is obligated to contact the Student housing office immediately upon finding out about the cancellation, in order to arrange a new contract.

Delayed arrival due to travel/entry bans
Should a new tenant not be able to arrive for the agreed start date of their tenancy due to an entry ban, they will still be entitled to their dormitory room. Proof for the delayed arrival needs to be sent to the Student housing office immediately upon finding out about the entry ban.

Respite of rental payments
Loss of jobs due to the protective measures to contain the Corona epidemic can cause loss of income amongst our tenants, who may be financing their livelihood with these earnings.

To alleviate the cases of social hardship, we are enabling a respite of the rental payments for the months of April, May and June 2020. The amortisation of the rental respite may be paid in instalments beginning with the month of July until December 2020. The offer includes suspending the rental payments from April until June 2020 entirely or partially. The application form needs to be requested from the Student housing office timely.

We are doing whatever we can and within the scope of our possibilities to decelerate the spreading of the Corona virus, to protect our tenants and to lessen the cases of social hardship.

Every tenant should be showing the same commitment by adhering to the measures imposed by the provincial as well as state government. Unfortunately, we repeatedly receive feedback from janitors and craftsmen, that tenants deliberately defy the distance-regulations (1.5 – 2m). Hence our urgent plea: Keep your distance!