Rental agreements in the Vonovia Group: Tenants' association successfully sues against electricity clause

afp | Anyone who rents an apartment must be able to freely decide from whom they get their electricity. According to the German Tenants' Association, this was decided by the Hamm Higher Regional Court (OLG) on Thursday. With a ruling on Wednesday, the tenants' association's injunction against two subsidiaries of the real estate group Vonovia was upheld - they are therefore not allowed to use a rental agreement as a "vehicle" to bind tenants to a specific electricity provider.

The tenants' association sued Deutsche Annington Beteiligungs GmbH and Vonovia Energie GmbH in April 2025. Tenants of Deutsche Annington should also conclude an electricity supply agreement with Vonovia Energie along with their rental agreement.

The tenants' association criticized this as an “inadmissible link” between the rental and electricity supply contracts. On the one hand, it is not clear to tenants in the specific contract design whether signing the rental agreement or additionally ticking a corresponding box leads to the initiation of the electricity supply agreement. On the other hand, tenants could feel compelled to conclude an electricity supply contract with Vonovia Energie in order not to jeopardize the conclusion of the rental agreement. In doing so, they “in effect gave up their free choice of electricity supplier”.

According to the Tenants' Association, the Higher Regional Court issued a so-called acknowledgment judgment after the defendant companies acknowledged the injunction claim “at the last minute”. According to the tenants' association, the ruling means that the disputed clause may no longer be used as a general terms and conditions (GTC) in Deutsche Annington's rental agreements in the future. Vonovia Energie can therefore no longer rely on the clause. Affected tenants could change their electricity supplier.

The OLG's decision was "of fundamental importance," explained the tenants' association: "It not only makes it clear that tenants must be able to clearly and transparently see which contracts they are concluding and what additional legal and financial obligations are associated with them. It also protects tenants from having to accept additional services in an already difficult housing situation that they may not even want."

Anyone who rents an apartment should not use the special dependence on those looking for an apartment to foist additional contracts on them or to encourage them to choose a specific provider. “This applies to electricity as well as other additional services.”