District Court orders €460 rent payment in dispute over spare-key handover

The District Court in Germany ordered Stefan Richter to pay Anja Richter €460 toward the final month’s rent after their separation. Presiding judge Martin signed the judgment on 10 October 2026, granting the amount Anja sought; she had requested no additional damages.

The dispute turned on whether Stefan’s promise to pay half of the €920 rent depended on receiving a spare key in time to collect his boxes. Martin found that the parties had arranged both the payment and the key handover, that Anja had provided the key, and that Stefan had not paid.

The judgment found that both parties were parties to the rental agreement and formed one household at the relevant time. It also treated their messages as recording an arrangement under which Stefan would pay €460 and Anja would provide access so he could remove his boxes.

The finding that Anja provided the key was central to the outcome. But the brief judgment does not specify when the handover occurred or explain how the court resolved the uncertainty about the Friday deadline raised during the hearing.

There is also a limit to the recorded basis for the rental-agreement finding. Anja told the court that she did not know whether both were named on the agreement and did not have the contract with her. The judgment states that both were parties to it without identifying the evidence supporting that conclusion.

Anja said she had paid the €920 rent and understood Stefan’s promise to cover half as a commitment to contribute. She relied on a screenshot showing that promise and said an account statement showed her transfer before the rent debit. In her account, the key discussion concerned collecting boxes rather than whether Stefan owed the money.

Stefan acknowledged promising €460 but maintained that his agreement depended on getting the spare key by Friday for a weekend collection. He said the cropped screenshot omitted that qualification and offered the full message exchange.

According to Stefan’s description of those messages, Anja proposed leaving the key with him on Friday evening and he accepted. He acknowledged that the exchange did not establish whether the key was actually handed over. Anja likewise could not reliably recall the handover day or whether it fell before or after the deadline.

Stefan said the couple usually handled rent through a shared household account. Their separation left a final rent payment and the practical task of retrieving his belongings to be addressed in the same exchange.

The judgment resolves the €460 claim in Anja’s favour. Its short reasons leave unanswered how the Friday timing affected the arrangement and how the handover was established despite the uncertainty in the parties’ accounts.