§ 161

A tenant of an apartment, which is exclusively rented for residential purposes, has the right to exchange with a tenant of another residential apartment, so that the latter takes over the apartment.

Stk. 2.The landlord may oppose the exchange if one of the following conditions is met:

1)The landlord resides in the property, and it comprises fewer than seven apartments.

2)The departing tenant has not occupied the apartment for 3 years.

3)The apartment will be occupied by more than one person per living room after the exchange.

4)The landlord otherwise has reasonable grounds to oppose the exchange.

Stk. 3.If the tenancy is one that the landlord intends to improve in connection with the exchange and subsequently set the rent according to § 19, the landlord must immediately inform the tenant of this and, no later than 1 month after the tenant's notification of exchange, request a preliminary approval from the rent tribunal, cf. § 132. The landlord must send a copy of the request for preliminary approval and information on the expected rent after the improvement to the tenant. When the rent tribunal's preliminary approval is available, the landlord must immediately provide the tenant with a copy. If the landlord fails to provide the information mentioned in the 1st and 3rd sentences, the rent cannot be set according to § 19, if re-letting occurs as part of the exchange. The preliminary approval disregards § 21.

Stk. 4.The tenant must, no later than 14 days after a copy of the rent tribunal's preliminary approval under stk. 3 has been received by the tenant, inform the landlord that the exchange is desired. If not, the tenancy continues on unchanged terms. A preliminary approval obtained under stk. 3 is valid for up to 2 years from the date of approval.

Stk. 5.The landlord must oppose the exchange if the apartment is subject to the rules on maximum occupancy and will be occupied by more than two persons per living room after the exchange, cf. § 14, in the Housing Act.

Stk. 6.If deemed reasonable in consideration of demand, the landlord may, when exchanging senior housing or unsupported private care homes, require that the dwelling be occupied by persons who meet the conditions for being considered for a dwelling of the relevant type.