> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.immodio.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.immodio.app/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10082800-kleinstreparaturen-handwerkern-reparaturen-umgelegt-auf-mieter.md). # Minor repairs, repairs by tradespeople (recoverable from tenant) Help on the Immodio entry item Very small repairs, tradesmen's repairs meters (recoverable from tenant).
Use this category for **small repairs in a let apartment whose costs have to be borne by the specific tenant concerned on the basis of an effective small repairs clause in the rental agreement**. The category may only be used where all the conditions of the agreed small repairs provision are actually met. Ordinary repairs and maintenance measures that you as the landlord have to bear yourself are **not** entered here but through the corresponding category for maintenance expenditure or repairs. #### An important legal starting point In principle the **landlord is responsible for maintaining and repairing the rented property**. Section 535 BGB obliges the landlord to keep the apartment in a condition suitable for use in accordance with the contract during the tenancy. A small repairs clause is a limited contractual exception to that. Under narrow conditions it can impose the **costs of certain small repairs** on the tenant. {% hint style="info" %} That means in particular that the tenant does not automatically bear every small tradesman's invoice. What is always decisive is whether the specific repair is covered by an **effective clause in the rental agreement**. That is the case in the Immodio rental agreement. {% endhint %} #### What is a small repair? A small repair typically concerns a smaller defect in an item located within, or in the immediate area of, the rented rooms and that is **exposed to the tenant's frequent and direct access**. The Federal Court of Justice has expressly required this restriction. A standard form small repairs clause may not cover any parts of the building at will but only items whose wear the tenant can actually influence through their regular use. Typical examples can be, depending on the specific clause and the individual case: * taps and other fittings operated frequently, * light switches or sockets, * door handles, door locks and certain door catches, * window handles and window catches, * roller shutter straps or comparable operating devices, * certain heating or cooking equipment operated directly by the tenant. What is decisive is not only that the repair is **cheap**. The item concerned also has to be covered by the small repairs clause and be subject to the tenant's **frequent access**. #### Example: a defective tap A tap frequently used by the tenant is defective in the let apartment. The rental agreement contains an effective small repairs clause covering corresponding installation items. The tradesman's invoice also lies entirely within the maximum amount per repair agreed in the rental agreement and the annual maximum has not yet been exceeded. The invoice can then in principle be assigned to the tenancy concerned through this category. #### Small repairs are not operating costs The addition **"recoverable from tenant"** must not be confused with an ordinary allocation of operating costs. Section 1 (2) BetrKV expressly provides that **maintenance and repair costs are not part of the operating costs**. A small repair may therefore not be allocated to all tenants of the building by **living space, number of people or number of apartments**, for example. It is assigned exclusively to the **specific tenancy concerned** where its rental agreement contains an effective small repairs clause. #### Not every defect inside the apartment is a small repair The spatial location inside the apartment alone is not sufficient. A water pipe **in the wall**, for example, does **not** become a small repair merely because it runs through the tenant's apartment. The Federal Court of Justice has regarded precisely such pipes lying in masonry or walls as problematic, because they are not exposed to the tenant's frequent access. The same principle applies, for example, to larger parts of the building or ones not operated directly by the tenant. A repair to: * **the roof,** * **the facade,** * **a main pipe,** * **the central heating system or** * **firmly concealed electrical installations** is therefore not to be passed on to the tenant simply on the basis of a small repairs clause. #### The rental agreement has to contain an effective small repairs clause Without a corresponding contractual agreement, the basic statutory rule of Section 535 BGB applies: **The landlord bears the maintenance costs.** A small repairs clause in a standard form rental agreement is also subject to the review of content under Section 307 BGB. A clause is invalid where it unreasonably disadvantages the tenant or is not worded sufficiently clearly and understandably. Before using this category you should therefore check in particular: * **Is a small repairs clause agreed at all?** * **Does the clause cover the item concerned?** * **Is the item exposed to the tenant's frequent access?** * **Is the individual repair within the agreed maximum limit?** * **Has the agreed annual maximum not yet been exceeded?** Only once these conditions are met should the repair be assigned to the tenancy as a small repair in Immodio. #### The maximum amount per repair An effective standard form small repairs provision has to limit the burden on the tenant. The Federal Court of Justice requires both a limit on the individual small repair and a maximum limit for several small repairs arising within a particular period, typically a year. There is **no single euro amount in the BGB** that automatically applies to every rental agreement. #### Do not pass on a repair above the individual limit pro rata It is important that the small repairs clause in principle does not work like a deductible **Example**: The rental agreement provides for a maximum amount per repair of **€120**. The specific repair costs **€180**. {% hint style="warning" %} **€120 may then not simply be assigned to the tenant** and **€60 to the landlord**. {% endhint %} The Federal Court of Justice has held a standard form provision impermissible under which the tenant was to contribute to larger repairs merely up to a maximum amount. The small repairs provision is precisely intended to remain limited to trivial repairs. **Example 1** * The individual upper limit agreed in the rental agreement is **€120** * The tradesman's invoice is **€95** The annual upper limit has therefore not yet been reached and the repair can be a small repair where the other conditions are met. **Example 2** * The individual upper limit agreed in the rental agreement is **€120** * The tradesman's invoice is **€180** The repair therefore exceeds the individual upper limit and the costs cannot simply be charged as a small repair up to the €120 agreed in the rental agreement. #### There also has to be an annual maximum Many small repairs may not burden the tenant without limit either. The Federal Court of Justice therefore also requires a maximum limit for the total amount the tenant has to bear within a particular period, a year for example, on the basis of the small repairs clause. **Example:** Over the course of a year several small repairs arise one after the other, each individually below the agreed maximum amount per repair. Before each further assignment it nevertheless has to be checked whether the **annual overall upper limit** has not yet been exhausted. Where it has already been reached, further repairs may no longer be passed on to the tenant through the same small repairs clause. #### The tenant normally does not have to engage the tradesman themselves Under narrow conditions a small repairs clause can impose the **costs** of a repair on the tenant. It cannot, however, oblige them to find the tradesman themselves, place the repair order and have the repair carried out on their own responsibility. In the past the Federal Court of Justice has held such a standard form **performance clause** to be an unreasonable disadvantage, even where the duty to repair was limited as to the items covered and the amount. {% hint style="info" %} That means: the landlord engages the tradesman and receives the invoice, and it is then checked whether the costs are to be borne by the tenant on the basis of an effective small repairs clause. {% endhint %} #### The distinction from normal repairs and maintenance expenditure Where the repair cannot be effectively passed on to the tenant, the landlord in principle remains liable for the costs. You then do not use this category but the appropriate Immodio category for **maintenance expenditure or repairs, such as "**[Maintenance, maintenance expenditure, tradesmen, repairs (immediately deductible as depreciation)](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10078700-instandhaltung-erhaltungsaufwand-handwerker-reparaturen-sofort-als-abschreibun.md)" or "[Maintenance, maintenance expenditure, tradesmen, repairs (immediately deductible as depreciation)](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10078700-instandhaltung-erhaltungsaufwand-handwerker-reparaturen-sofort-als-abschreibun.md)" #### The distinction from damage caused by the tenant A small repair is also not the same as a **damages case**. A small repair typically concerns a small defect or wear whose costs the tenant exceptionally has to bear because of the contractual clause, **without being blamed for the damage**. Under Section 538 BGB the tenant is not responsible for normal wear from use in accordance with the contract. Where the tenant damages an item intentionally or negligently, by contrast, there can be an independent claim for damages because of a breach of duty. Section 280 BGB in principle requires a breach of duty for which the debtor is responsible. Example: **A tap wears out with normal use**\ → check the small repairs clause where applicable. **The tenant breaks the washbasin through improper handling**\ → a possible damages case; do not simply treat it as a small repair. #### The distinction from maintenance **Maintenance costs** are also not the same as a small repair. Maintenance is intended to preserve or check a system's functionality before a specific defect has to be remedied. A repair, by contrast, remedies damage or a defect that is already present. {% hint style="info" %} For maintenance use the category **"**[**Maintenance of your rental properties (recoverable from tenant)**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10147500-wartung-ihrer-vermietungsobjekte-umgelegt-auf-mieter.md)**"** {% endhint %} #### Assignment in Immodio Select **Assignment → Tenancy** and then precisely the tenancy whose rental agreement contains the applicable small repairs clause. #### Do not enter here The following do not belong in this category: the landlord's normal maintenance and refurbishment work, repairs above the effective individual upper limit, repairs after the annual upper limit has been exhausted, repairs to items not subject to the tenant's frequent and direct access, damage caused by culpable damage by the tenant, maintenance costs, repairs to technical systems where a more specific category is provided for them, and any repair costs that are to be allocated across several tenants. #### Which documents should you keep? Keep in particular the rental agreement with the small repairs clause, the complete tradesman's invoice, proof of payment and documentation of the item repaired. It should also remain comprehensible which small repairs have already been charged to the tenant concerned in the current year. Only that makes it possible to check whether the annual maximum agreed in the contract is still being observed. Where there is doubt about the nature of the defect, photos or the tradesman's description of the work can be helpful.