In a landmark decision on November 18, 2021, the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruled that under the previous legal situation, tenants cannot terminate a cable TV connection provided under a lease agreement separately from the lease. The legislature introduced such an opt-out right in the course of the amendment to the Telecommunications Act (TKG), which came into force on December 1, 2021, but this right can only be exercised from July 1, 2024 if the connection charges are apportioned as operating costs. The BGH ruling thus safeguards this existing supply model until the end of the statutory transition period on June 30, 2024. However, the BGH's reasoning also raises some relevant questions for housing companies in the meantime, which GT's Dr. Christoph Enaux and Dr. Lucas Wüsthof address in a comment on the ruling in the latest edition of the magazine "Netzwirtschaft & Recht".
The article can be accessed here with the kind permission of the publisher (German only). To access, click the media link below.
The article can be accessed here with the kind permission of the publisher (German only). To access, click the media link below.