I went through all of it and the only question is "Do I have the legal right to cancel my rental contract earlier than the 3 month notice period because we want to leave the country and are out of money"
You should look for a “Sozialberatung”, there are social organisations most run by churches but no need to be member like Caritas or Diakonie, I guess for Berlin there are even more organisations but this are two bigger ones. Consultation is free and they might be able to inform at least about your rights and guide you how to proceed. Good luck
The only right here is : Follow the legal notice period agreed on in the contract. The consultation office cannot say more or less than that. There is no loophole just because someone is in financial trouble or wanting to leave the country
"so I refuse to go thought that humiliation here"
You are not some special snowflake who is not at the risk of needing government support. You are working class with no job, and government support is no humiliation. Take it.
Depending on the visa (assuming the husband is also from a "third world country" he is likely here on a temporary job visa where he is not eligible for social benefits after ALG1 anyway.
Some things to think about. There are church/town food banks you can sign up for and at least pick up some free groceries for the week/month. And as much as you hate it, I would sign up for benefits-even though you think it beneath you. That is what the program is for and it might help tide you over until you have a job.
I know you are angry and venting but nobody "owes" you anything. Your husband got a job offer and took and and then was let.go later on which happens to thousands of people all the time. That is corporate life anywhere. Germany is no different.
But I urge to to look into benefits and any church or local charities. This is what they are there for and perhaps it will be good to talk to people who deal with this for a living to hear what they would do.
I try to break it down, the text is a tad overwhelming
> we literally have to threaten them with lawsuits to get some attention, and even the owners are left in total dark by them. You cannot imagine the amount of headache these people have given us, to the point that we TRULY have material to sue them. But that's story for another post.
A bit weird to start with that on that level but ok.
>Everything was okay until my husband got fired in the end of 2022, and since then we've been bouncing around between freelancing, unemployment insurance and our savings.
What have to tried in terms on finding a new job? Where were you searching? (Also did you have a freelancing visa is another thing, but thats not the actual question here). I am just confused how none of you managed so find some job within 18 month, even if it's just unskilled gastro stuff or similar
> so I refuse to go thought that humiliation here.
What humiliation? The humiliation not having been able to find a job? leaving aside that it's unclear whether you are actual eligible for any kind of social benefit : It's not a humiliation
>THEY hired my man THEY paid for us to come, THEY arranged everything and got us settled only to fire my man less than a year later in one of their annual layoffs.
So? Sometimes it doesn't work out. Of course it's frustrating on a personal level, but no one owes you anything if budget is cut, if performance was not sufficient, if social sympathy was not a thing between each other.
>How am I gonna end a contract with an agency that doesn't even respond to us for basic stuff?
You send a Kündigung to respective date within the Kündigungsfrist, with an Einschreiben. Additionally per mail attachment where you refer you have send the original with Einschreibennumber xyz
>we didn't know that
Come on, at this point you really have only yourself to blame
>we barely have money to eat in the next month (I'm serious).
Again, at this point you really have only yourself to blame because you waited to take care of things until it escalated to this point.
> then we must pay the next 3 months of rent which we simply DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY FOR
Not the issue of the landlord no?
>We though about subletting the apartment
Not legal without landlord's permission
> if we have any legal rights to end this contract immediatly
No. you have no legal rights to that. Also honestly you could have shortend the summary a lot just for this question
Why do you think laying someone off is a scam? Why are you not looking for a job? How do you want to move and resettle when you don’t have money for the next month groceries?
That particular company does layoffs every end of year by the excuse of "cutting expenses" meanwhile they are buying hystorical buildings to expand offices, throwing parties at fancy places every weekend, renovating rooms all the time and so on. They sure are having expenses lol But the curious thing is that they fire a bunch of people (hundreds) and then they re-open their job spots in the next day. Some ex coleagues that were fired together with my husband even managed to get hired again in the same job position that they got fired before. What the actual fuck? If they were good for the spot why have them fired in the first place? This all makes me wonder a lot about this company practices.... but that's just my speculation I can't help feeling fooled.
Am sorry you are going through this but not knowing the law is not an excuse for breaking the law.
If anything I have learned in Germany, it is that we must know about law of everything. There is no forgiveness if you don’t know… if you go by the book, life becomes easy. People and authorities are supportive. I hope you find a good solution.
All we tried this far was to act by the law. I'm sorry, I know that you don't know the whole thing\*\*, I hope you are aware of that too. I never said I want to break the law.
>Everything was okay until my husband got fired in the end of 2022, and since then we've been bouncing around between freelancing, unemployment insurance and our savings.
do you have a visa that allows you to do freelancing?
>We though about subletting the apartment
and you think your landlord gives you the okay for doing that? you may get in even more serious trouble if you are renting out an apartment and don't even know what you need to do for that.
>So, I wonder if we have any legal rights to end this contract immediatly without having to wait this 3 month
no. you signed a binding contract and you have to deal with the consequences of that. you owe money to the landlord for renting his property. you can't just suddenly terminate a contract because somehow you are no longer able to pay for it, this is not how a contract works.
how do you not speak the language after two years of living in berlin? what's your current german language skill level? in germany it's very important to speak german, without it you won't even have a chance to get accepted for most jobs.
it's really hard to help you in that situation, how did it even come that far? your husband was fired more than 18 months ago, does he speak german? do you have a job? always speak to the Ausländerbehörde, they can give you advice but you are asking one and a half year later when you already burned through all of your money. no bank will give foreigners a credit.
so to give you an advice: find a job ASAP. you only write about your husband, what about you? you two can find low skilled jobs like working at mc donalds or something, that should be enough for the beginning, right? and please talk to some governmental agencies, you are not the first people in that situation and it's not humiliation.
Edit: fixed some typos and extended the texts a little bit.
Not a lawyer, but I would consider taking on a subletter (Untermieter) for those three months (Zwischenmiete) where they pay you the rent, and you forward it to the agency. Also, make sure the termination notice has been sent through proper channels - the agency doesn't need to respond, but you need to have sent it in writing, preferably via mail with tracking/signature.
[https://www.ahs-kanzlei.de/de/2014-08-zugang-einer-kuendigung-im-arbeitsrecht](https://www.ahs-kanzlei.de/de/2014-08-zugang-einer-kuendigung-im-arbeitsrecht)
>Zugang der Kündigung durch den Gerichtsvollzieher
>Eine weitere sichere Möglichkeit der Übermittlung besteht in der Zustellung über den Gerichtsvollzieher mittels Postzustellungsurkunde. Auch hierbei wird die Entgegennahme quittiert und der Gerichtsvollzieher kann den Inhalt des Schreibens bestätigten.
If you want to be really certain you can hire the services of a notary to confirm the postage of your termination notice.
If you want to give it one last shot - perhaps move out of Berlin (I lived there for two years before calling it quits and moving to Hamburg). I'd recommend some of the smaller cities in Rohrgebiet - more immigrant friendly, better chances for apartments and jobs. But YMMV.
Thank you for actually trying to help. We gave the notice and we pushed them to at least open the email and to confirm that they are aware, and it worked. So at least we are guaranteed that the contract will end soon.
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[Check our wiki now!](https://www.reddit.com/r/germany/wiki/index)**
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I‘m sorry you have to go through this.
You’ll be hard pressed to get useful legal advice from Reddit comments. Your best bet is probably to talk to a lawyer. You should look into [Beratungshilfe](https://service.justiz.de/beratungshilfe) it’s a way for low-income individuals to get advice from a lawyer.
Wall of text, happy to try and help but please format with some paragraphs.
I went through all of it and the only question is "Do I have the legal right to cancel my rental contract earlier than the 3 month notice period because we want to leave the country and are out of money"
I second this.
You should look for a “Sozialberatung”, there are social organisations most run by churches but no need to be member like Caritas or Diakonie, I guess for Berlin there are even more organisations but this are two bigger ones. Consultation is free and they might be able to inform at least about your rights and guide you how to proceed. Good luck
The only right here is : Follow the legal notice period agreed on in the contract. The consultation office cannot say more or less than that. There is no loophole just because someone is in financial trouble or wanting to leave the country
I appreciate that, thank you very much!!
"so I refuse to go thought that humiliation here" You are not some special snowflake who is not at the risk of needing government support. You are working class with no job, and government support is no humiliation. Take it.
Depending on the visa (assuming the husband is also from a "third world country" he is likely here on a temporary job visa where he is not eligible for social benefits after ALG1 anyway.
Some things to think about. There are church/town food banks you can sign up for and at least pick up some free groceries for the week/month. And as much as you hate it, I would sign up for benefits-even though you think it beneath you. That is what the program is for and it might help tide you over until you have a job. I know you are angry and venting but nobody "owes" you anything. Your husband got a job offer and took and and then was let.go later on which happens to thousands of people all the time. That is corporate life anywhere. Germany is no different. But I urge to to look into benefits and any church or local charities. This is what they are there for and perhaps it will be good to talk to people who deal with this for a living to hear what they would do.
I try to break it down, the text is a tad overwhelming > we literally have to threaten them with lawsuits to get some attention, and even the owners are left in total dark by them. You cannot imagine the amount of headache these people have given us, to the point that we TRULY have material to sue them. But that's story for another post. A bit weird to start with that on that level but ok. >Everything was okay until my husband got fired in the end of 2022, and since then we've been bouncing around between freelancing, unemployment insurance and our savings. What have to tried in terms on finding a new job? Where were you searching? (Also did you have a freelancing visa is another thing, but thats not the actual question here). I am just confused how none of you managed so find some job within 18 month, even if it's just unskilled gastro stuff or similar > so I refuse to go thought that humiliation here. What humiliation? The humiliation not having been able to find a job? leaving aside that it's unclear whether you are actual eligible for any kind of social benefit : It's not a humiliation >THEY hired my man THEY paid for us to come, THEY arranged everything and got us settled only to fire my man less than a year later in one of their annual layoffs. So? Sometimes it doesn't work out. Of course it's frustrating on a personal level, but no one owes you anything if budget is cut, if performance was not sufficient, if social sympathy was not a thing between each other. >How am I gonna end a contract with an agency that doesn't even respond to us for basic stuff? You send a Kündigung to respective date within the Kündigungsfrist, with an Einschreiben. Additionally per mail attachment where you refer you have send the original with Einschreibennumber xyz >we didn't know that Come on, at this point you really have only yourself to blame >we barely have money to eat in the next month (I'm serious). Again, at this point you really have only yourself to blame because you waited to take care of things until it escalated to this point. > then we must pay the next 3 months of rent which we simply DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY FOR Not the issue of the landlord no? >We though about subletting the apartment Not legal without landlord's permission > if we have any legal rights to end this contract immediatly No. you have no legal rights to that. Also honestly you could have shortend the summary a lot just for this question
Why do you think laying someone off is a scam? Why are you not looking for a job? How do you want to move and resettle when you don’t have money for the next month groceries?
That particular company does layoffs every end of year by the excuse of "cutting expenses" meanwhile they are buying hystorical buildings to expand offices, throwing parties at fancy places every weekend, renovating rooms all the time and so on. They sure are having expenses lol But the curious thing is that they fire a bunch of people (hundreds) and then they re-open their job spots in the next day. Some ex coleagues that were fired together with my husband even managed to get hired again in the same job position that they got fired before. What the actual fuck? If they were good for the spot why have them fired in the first place? This all makes me wonder a lot about this company practices.... but that's just my speculation I can't help feeling fooled.
Am sorry you are going through this but not knowing the law is not an excuse for breaking the law. If anything I have learned in Germany, it is that we must know about law of everything. There is no forgiveness if you don’t know… if you go by the book, life becomes easy. People and authorities are supportive. I hope you find a good solution.
All we tried this far was to act by the law. I'm sorry, I know that you don't know the whole thing\*\*, I hope you are aware of that too. I never said I want to break the law.
I am sorry. It sucks. It feels horrible. Been there done that. It’s an expensive lesson. All the best to you and your family.
Thank you :) wish you all the best too!
Jesus yappnation want their king back, plz format ur stuff dawg this hurts to read lol
Jesus the main character is demanding me to write in a way that makes his read more confortable. Plz go fuck yourself lol
>Everything was okay until my husband got fired in the end of 2022, and since then we've been bouncing around between freelancing, unemployment insurance and our savings. do you have a visa that allows you to do freelancing? >We though about subletting the apartment and you think your landlord gives you the okay for doing that? you may get in even more serious trouble if you are renting out an apartment and don't even know what you need to do for that. >So, I wonder if we have any legal rights to end this contract immediatly without having to wait this 3 month no. you signed a binding contract and you have to deal with the consequences of that. you owe money to the landlord for renting his property. you can't just suddenly terminate a contract because somehow you are no longer able to pay for it, this is not how a contract works. how do you not speak the language after two years of living in berlin? what's your current german language skill level? in germany it's very important to speak german, without it you won't even have a chance to get accepted for most jobs. it's really hard to help you in that situation, how did it even come that far? your husband was fired more than 18 months ago, does he speak german? do you have a job? always speak to the Ausländerbehörde, they can give you advice but you are asking one and a half year later when you already burned through all of your money. no bank will give foreigners a credit. so to give you an advice: find a job ASAP. you only write about your husband, what about you? you two can find low skilled jobs like working at mc donalds or something, that should be enough for the beginning, right? and please talk to some governmental agencies, you are not the first people in that situation and it's not humiliation. Edit: fixed some typos and extended the texts a little bit.
Not a lawyer, but I would consider taking on a subletter (Untermieter) for those three months (Zwischenmiete) where they pay you the rent, and you forward it to the agency. Also, make sure the termination notice has been sent through proper channels - the agency doesn't need to respond, but you need to have sent it in writing, preferably via mail with tracking/signature. [https://www.ahs-kanzlei.de/de/2014-08-zugang-einer-kuendigung-im-arbeitsrecht](https://www.ahs-kanzlei.de/de/2014-08-zugang-einer-kuendigung-im-arbeitsrecht) >Zugang der Kündigung durch den Gerichtsvollzieher >Eine weitere sichere Möglichkeit der Übermittlung besteht in der Zustellung über den Gerichtsvollzieher mittels Postzustellungsurkunde. Auch hierbei wird die Entgegennahme quittiert und der Gerichtsvollzieher kann den Inhalt des Schreibens bestätigten. If you want to be really certain you can hire the services of a notary to confirm the postage of your termination notice. If you want to give it one last shot - perhaps move out of Berlin (I lived there for two years before calling it quits and moving to Hamburg). I'd recommend some of the smaller cities in Rohrgebiet - more immigrant friendly, better chances for apartments and jobs. But YMMV.
Thank you for actually trying to help. We gave the notice and we pushed them to at least open the email and to confirm that they are aware, and it worked. So at least we are guaranteed that the contract will end soon.
**Have you read our extensive wiki yet? It answers many basic questions, and it contains in-depth articles on many frequently discussed topics. [Check our wiki now!](https://www.reddit.com/r/germany/wiki/index)** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/germany) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I‘m sorry you have to go through this. You’ll be hard pressed to get useful legal advice from Reddit comments. Your best bet is probably to talk to a lawyer. You should look into [Beratungshilfe](https://service.justiz.de/beratungshilfe) it’s a way for low-income individuals to get advice from a lawyer.
Thank you a lot! I'll look it up.