Written Form Requirement

In its decision of 15 September 2021 (XII ZR 60/20), the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) continued its case law on the written form requirement. In the present case, the plaintiff sought termination of the lease agreement because agreements of the parties on the amount of rent reductions, each of which had a term of significantly less than one year, did not comply with the written form requirement. In its decision on costs, the BGH found that the plaintiff would in all probability not have succeeded with this claim. According to the BGH, an amendment of essential contractual agreements only requires written form pursuant to section 550 sentence 1 of the German Civil Code (BGB) if it claims validity for a period exceeding one year. The relevant term of the amendment must be considered in relation to the individual agreement. In the present case, for example, the terms of the rent reductions may not be added.