Tenant does not want to pay the rental deposit - damage is time-barred

Sincerely from the partner. Always stand by what you do.

Don't know. Now the stress is here and it's about the principle. A landlord is not a benefactor.

For her, it was in her eyes "better" to have it documented by both sides.

She didn't want anything to come up later saying that we had deliberately concealed it to deceive him, etc.

Since the apartment was, as mentioned, in good condition and the stain, in our eyes, did not represent a huge "damage," we were basically relaxed about the inspection. Therefore, I didn't take time off specifically for the inspection but sent my partner and mother-in-law. The landlord also had someone from the property management with him.

At that time, I didn't yet know how damages would be billed and taken into account (protocol) because it was my first rental apartment.

For her, it was "better" in her eyes to have it recorded by both parties.

She didn't want anything to come up later with people saying we had deliberately kept it secret to deceive him, etc.

Since the apartment was, as mentioned, basically fine, and the stain didn't really represent a huge "damage" in our eyes, we were quite relaxed about the handover. Therefore, I didn't take time off for the handover, but sent my partner and mother-in-law. The landlord had someone from the building management with him.

At the time, I didn't even know how damages would be accounted for and considered (protocol), because it was my first rental apartment.

Ignorance doesn’t protect against …. this is not schadenfreude. I also had stress with the last rental before buying property. I find that property managers can be quite tough sometimes, but they don’t want to end up bearing the damage. We had parquet floors and no agreement about final cleaning. Left it broom-clean; the property manager just said mop it wet or he’d get a cleaning company which would cost €350. We thought that was silly, so we did it ourselves. Never got a confirmation, and two months later the property manager came back. Yes, hello, the floor looks bad. Meanwhile, the realtor had shown the apartment to a million interested parties. We were smart enough back then to mix photos and send them both to the property manager and landlord in parallel. The landlord vetoed and said yes, we were in the right. It’s always annoying that they have the deposit as leverage.

Once again, a small update:

Yesterday I received from my lawyer a copy from the district court of a partial default judgment against one of the two defendants.

To clarify again: This concerns a building owners' association acting as landlord. One of them manages everything, and the other is basically only listed there with his name and does not actually act as landlord. The latter missed deadlines, and a partial default judgment was issued without an oral hearing.

It states that defendant number 2

1. must release the rent account with the number xxxxxx at xxxxxbank.

2. must pay interest of approximately 150 euros (5% above the base interest rate).

3. that this judgment is provisionally enforceable.

He can now file an objection within 14 days.

I read that if one party is in default, the judge issues a default judgment based on appropriate consistency.

I am still not exactly clear about all this... does it mean that if they now do not respond and file an objection, both have lost the case and I get my rental deposit back?

What about the incurred court costs? The lawyer wrote only that he wants to have the costs "determined" after the judgment becomes final.

Let's see when he has an appointment available for further clarification...

With the fixed interest rate, you can actually face the further development quite calmly.

Simply put:
A partial default judgment means your claim is only partly valid and partly invalid based solely on the evaluation of the complaint. If the defendant now files an objection, the proceedings continue as usual. If not, an appeal can only be filed against the judgment.

After the judgment becomes final (or even now, although this is generally not advisable), the judgment can be enforced, i.e., you can, if necessary, enforce the release of the escrow account with the help of a bailiff.

The procedural costs are divided according to the ratio of the claim to the ruling, since your claim was not entirely successful. As the plaintiff, you had to pay an advance, which you can partially claim from the defendant. This includes not only the court costs but also the costs for your lawyer. These costs are determined by the court and can then also be claimed from the opponent. However, your lawyer takes care of this.