Bureaucracy Relief Act IV: Land use and commercial lease agreements soon in text form!

On 18 October 2024, the Federal Council approved the ‘Fourth Act to Reduce Bureaucracy for Citizens, Business and the Administration’. The Bundestag had already passed the law on 26 September 2024. From 1 January 2025, important changes will come into force: the written form requirement of Section 550 BGB in commercial tenancy law will be replaced by the text form requirement (Section 126b BGB). This means that in future it will be possible to conclude and amend long-term property usage and commercial leases digitally by email, PDF or messenger. ⏳ A transitional period of twelve months applies to existing leases, i.e. until 1 January 2026, these contracts can still be terminated in accordance with Section 550 BGB if there is a lack of written form. ❗ It is true that concluding a contract in text form in accordance with Section 126b BGB appears simpler and faster. However, concluding contracts digitally creates new risks for formal errors. For example, the text form requirement stipulates that the declaration must be made on a durable medium. A durable medium is any medium that 1️⃣ enables the recipient to store or save a declaration on the data carrier that is addressed to him personally in such a way that it is accessible to him for a period of time appropriate to its purpose, and 2️⃣ is capable of reproducing the statement unchanged. 💡 During the transitional period, existing tenancy agreements should now be checked for any written form defects.