Lifelong right of residence becomes unreasonable: rights, limits and options under the German Civil Code

Does the right of residence end if living together becomes unreasonable?

Not by itself. The right of residence is a limited personal servitude (beschränkte persönliche Dienstbarkeit): the right to use a building or part of a building as a dwelling to the exclusion of the owner (§ 1093(1) sentence 1 BGB). It is not transferable (§ 1092(1) sentence 1 BGB). For its end, § 1090(2) BGB refers to § 1061 BGB: the right lapses on the death of the holder. These provisions do not name a broken relationship or moving out as a ground for lapse.

Cancellation: the mother's declaration and deletion

To cancel a right in land, unless the law provides otherwise, two things are required: the holder's declaration that she gives up the right, and the deletion of the right from the land register (§ 875(1) sentence 1 BGB). The mother makes this declaration to the land registry or to the daughter, in whose favour it is made (sentence 2).

For the land register, the following applies: an entry is made if the person whose right is affected by it consents to it (§ 19 GBO, Land Register Code). It should only be made if the consent or the other required declarations are proven by public or publicly certified documents (§ 29(1) sentence 1 GBO).

No unilateral right of the daughter to end it: None of the provisions read for this article gives the daughter as owner a right to end the right of residence before the mother's death without the mother's declaration. Whether, in an individual case, the transfer agreement, another statutory provision or other grounds exceptionally lead to a different result is an open question.

Your takeaway: For cancellation, § 875 BGB requires, unless the law provides otherwise, the mother's declaration of abandonment and the deletion. Whether another statutory route may be available in the individual case is an open question for advice. Check early, therefore, whether both sides are prepared to reach an agreement.

What may the mother do, and what must the daughter accept?

Many conflicts under one roof revolve around the content of the right. The wording sets out the following points:

• Sole use: The mother uses the granny flat to the exclusion of the daughter as owner (§ 1093(1) sentence 1 BGB).
• Taking in persons: She may take her family and the persons required for service befitting her station and for care into the dwelling (§ 1093(2) BGB).
• Communal facilities: Because the right is limited to part of the building, she may share the use of the facilities and installations intended for the communal use of the residents (§ 1093(3) BGB). Which facilities these are in the specific house, for example the stairwell, cellar or garden, follows not from the statute but from the contract, the land register and the designation of the facilities.
• Leaving the exercise to others: The exercise may be left to another person only if this is permitted (§ 1092(1) sentence 2 BGB).
• Considerate exercise: Via § 1090(2) BGB, § 1020 sentence 1 BGB applies accordingly. Under it, the holder must spare the owner's interest as far as practicable.
• Maintenance: Via § 1093(1) sentence 2 BGB, § 1041 BGB applies accordingly. The mother must ensure that the property is maintained in its economic condition; repairs and renewals are her responsibility only insofar as they are part of ordinary maintenance. Who bears costs beyond that does not follow from this wording but, where applicable, from the contract.

Your takeaway: Put the transfer agreement and the land register extract side by side and note which rooms and facilities the mother uses alone, jointly or not at all. This is the basis for every further conversation.

Florian Enders on the lifelong right of residence when living together becomes unreasonable

Can the mother's dwelling be relocated to other rooms?

§ 1090(2) BGB declares, among others, §§ 1020 to 1024 BGB applicable accordingly, and thus also § 1023 BGB. Under it:

• If the exercise is limited to part of the encumbered plot, the owner can demand that the exercise be relocated to another place equally suitable for the holder,
• if exercise at the previous place is particularly burdensome for the owner.
• The owner must bear and advance the costs of the relocation (para. 1 sentence 1).
• This also applies if the part is determined by legal transaction (para. 1 sentence 2), and the right to relocation can neither be excluded nor restricted by legal transaction (para. 2).

Two points are important. According to the wording, only the owner, here the daughter, has the claim; § 1023 BGB does not provide a corresponding claim for the holder. In addition, the provision refers to a part of the plot and another place. Whether it also supports relocating the right of residence in the granny flat to other rooms of the building is not expressly answered by the wording. This is an open question; this article does not promise that relocation is possible.

Irrespective of this, mother and daughter can agree on a relocation. How such a change is to be implemented in the land register is not regulated in detail by the provisions read here; the requirements of §§ 19, 29 GBO apply to entries.

Your takeaway: If the daughter is considering a relocation, she should first clarify which rooms would be equally suitable for the mother. Should § 1023 BGB be applicable, she bears and advances the costs. In an agreed relocation, the agreement should expressly regulate the costs.

How can both sides defend themselves against interference?

The daughter as owner: If her ownership is interfered with other than by deprivation or withholding of possession, she can demand that the disturber remove the interference. If further interference is to be feared, she can sue for an injunction (§ 1004(1) BGB). The claim is excluded if she is obliged to tolerate the interference (para. 2). Insofar as the mother's right of residence permits a use, exactly this question arises; where the line lies must be determined in the individual case.

The mother as holder: If her right of residence is interfered with, she has the rights set out in § 1004 BGB (§ 1027 BGB, applicable accordingly via § 1090(2) BGB). These are removal and, if further interference is to be feared, cessation. How the toleration limit of § 1004(2) BGB applies in this context remains to be examined in the individual case.

According to its wording, § 1004 BGB does not apply to deprivation or withholding of possession. This article does not cover the claims for that case.

Your takeaway: Record specific instances of interference with the date. Whether the other side must tolerate them depends on the content of the right of residence and of the contract.

Can the transfer agreement be adjusted or terminated?

Adjustment under § 313 BGB

Under § 313(1) BGB, adjustment of the contract can only be demanded if all requirements are met:

1. Circumstances that have become the basis of the contract have changed significantly after the contract was concluded,
2. the parties would not have concluded the contract, or would have concluded it with different content, if they had foreseen this change, and
3. taking into account all circumstances of the individual case, in particular the contractual or statutory allocation of risk, one party cannot reasonably be expected to uphold the unchanged contract.

It is equivalent to a change of circumstances if material assumptions that have become the basis of the contract turn out to be incorrect (para. 2). Only if adjustment is not possible or cannot reasonably be expected of one party may the disadvantaged party withdraw from the contract; for continuing obligations, the right to terminate takes the place of the right of withdrawal (para. 3). For moving into a care home, the article on right of residence and care home deals with this question separately.

Termination under § 314 BGB

Each party may terminate a continuing obligation for good cause without observing a notice period. Good cause exists if, taking into account all circumstances of the individual case and weighing the interests of both parties, the terminating party cannot reasonably be expected to continue until the agreed end or until the expiry of a notice period (§ 314(1) BGB). If the cause consists in the breach of a contractual obligation, termination is only permitted after a period set for remedy has expired without success or after an unsuccessful warning; exceptions are regulated in para. 2 sentences 2 and 3. The entitled party may only terminate within a reasonable period after becoming aware of the ground for termination (para. 3).

Open questions: Whether the relationship between mother and daughter became the basis of the contract, whether the transfer creates a continuing obligation and whether an adjustment, withdrawal or termination affects the registered right at all is not answered by the wording. The cancellation of the registered right is governed by § 875 BGB, unless the law provides otherwise, together with §§ 19, 29 GBO.

In addition, § 242 BGB provides that the obligor must perform in the manner required by good faith, taking customary practice into consideration. What consequences follow from this in the family case is left open by the wording.

Leibgeding or Altenteil?

Whether the transfer in the family case is a Leibgeding or Altenteil agreement (German terms retained) remains an open question. Under Art. 96 EGBGB (Introductory Act to the Civil Code), the state-law provisions on a Leibgedings-, Leibzuchts-, Altenteils- or Auszugsvertrag connected with the transfer of a plot of land remain unaffected insofar as they regulate the obligation arising from the contract for the case that no special agreements are made. State law may therefore contain supplementary rules. This article does not examine any state provision and does not state any legal consequence arising from one.

Your takeaway: Look in the transfer agreement for rules on conflicts, withdrawal or reclaiming, and for the designation of the contract. Whether §§ 313, 314 BGB apply can only be assessed against the specific contract.

Can the mother revoke the gift?

If it is a gift, the mother can revoke it if the daughter is guilty of gross ingratitude through serious misconduct towards her or a close relative of hers (§ 530(1) BGB). Her heirs have the right of revocation only if the recipient intentionally and unlawfully killed the donor or prevented her from revoking (para. 2).

• Declaration: Revocation is made by declaration to the daughter (§ 531(1) BGB).
• Return: If the gift has been revoked, return of the gift can be demanded under the provisions on the return of unjust enrichment (§ 531(2) BGB). This article does not cover the scope of the return.
• Exclusion: Revocation is excluded if the mother has forgiven the daughter or if one year has passed since she learned that the requirements were met. After the death of the recipient, it is no longer permitted (§ 532 BGB).

Whether a particular behaviour in the dispute constitutes serious misconduct and gross ingratitude is a question of the individual case. This article does not give an assessment of it.

Your takeaway: A donor considering revocation should keep the one-year period from knowledge in mind and have the occasion examined promptly.

Consensual routes: cancellation, relocation, waiver

If both sides want to avoid a solution in court, agreements in particular come into consideration:

• Cancellation against compensation: The mother gives up the right, the daughter pays compensation. Legally required under § 875 BGB, unless the law provides otherwise, are the declaration of abandonment and the deletion. The deletion requires the mother's consent under § 19 GBO, proof of which § 29(1) GBO provides for by public or publicly certified documents. Before the deletion, the mother is bound by her declaration only if she has made it to the land registry or has handed the daughter a consent to deletion (Löschungsbewilligung) complying with the Land Register Code (§ 875(2) BGB). This article does not state any amounts.
• Agreed relocation: Mother and daughter agree on other rooms. How this change is implemented in the land register is an open question for advice; §§ 19, 29 GBO apply to entries.
• Rules for living together: Written arrangements, for example on the use of communal facilities, can limit points of dispute without changing the right itself.
• Waiver without consideration: For gift tax purposes, it can be a gratuitous transfer insofar as the daughter is thereby enriched at the mother's expense (§ 7(1) no. 1 ErbStG, Inheritance and Gift Tax Act); whether that is the case is a question to be examined. Waiver and reclaiming in the event of care are covered in the article on right of residence and care home.

Your takeaway: Do not sign a consent to deletion before the compensation and the consequences have been clarified; handing it over can trigger the binding effect under § 875(2) BGB.

The routes at a glance

Step by step: how to proceed in the conflict

1. Review the documents. Transfer agreement and land register extract: rooms, communal facilities, permission to leave the exercise to others, costs, consideration and any rules on withdrawal or reclaiming.
2. Sort out the points of dispute. Which rooms, facilities and incidents are affected? Record incidents with the date.
3. Observe deadlines. For a revocation, one year runs from knowledge, and it is only possible during the daughter's lifetime (§ 532 BGB). A termination under § 314 BGB is only possible within a reasonable period after knowledge, if the provision applies at all.
4. In case of a breach of duty, check a period for remedy or a warning. If § 314 BGB applies at all and the cause consists in a breach of a contractual duty, termination is generally only permitted after a period for remedy has expired without success or after an unsuccessful warning; exceptions are regulated in § 314(2) sentences 2 and 3 BGB.
5. Examine an amicable solution. Cancellation against compensation, agreed relocation or written rules for living together.
6. Do not sign anything hastily. A consent to deletion that has been handed over can be binding (§ 875(2) BGB).
7. Observe the formal requirement. Under § 29(1) GBO, an entry should only be made if the consent and the other required declarations are proven by public or publicly certified documents.
8. Advice before court action. Have the open questions clarified against the specific contract.

Frequently asked questions

Can the daughter terminate the right of residence because living together is unreasonable?

None of the provisions read contains a right to terminate the registered right of residence itself. § 314 BGB permits the termination of continuing obligations for good cause; whether the transfer agreement is one and whether a termination affects the registration is open. For cancellation, § 875 BGB requires, unless the law provides otherwise, the mother's declaration of abandonment and the deletion.

Can the mother demand to move to other rooms in the house?

According to its wording, § 1023 BGB gives the claim to relocation only to the owner, here the daughter; it gives the mother no such claim. Whether anything can follow from an adjustment of the contract under § 313 BGB is an open question. A move within the house can, however, be agreed.

May the mother continue to use the garden, cellar or stairwell?

If the right of residence is limited to part of the building, the holder may share the use of the facilities and installations intended for the communal use of the residents (§ 1093(3) BGB). Which facilities these are in the specific house follows from the contract, the land register and the designation of the facilities, not from the statute alone.

Does the right of residence end if the mother moves out?

The provisions read name the death of the holder as a ground for lapse and, unless the law provides otherwise, cancellation by declaration of abandonment and deletion; they do not name moving out. For a permanent move to a care home, the article on right of residence and care home describes the consequences.

Sources, assumptions and limits of this article

Assumptions: German law; a lifelong right of residence under § 1093 BGB registered in the land register in respect of the granny flat; transfer of the house as a gift from the mother to the daughter; mother and daughter live in the same house. Your transfer agreement may contain different rules.

Open questions: whether, in the individual case, a statutory route other than cancellation under § 875 BGB is available; whether § 1023 BGB supports relocation to other rooms of a building; whether §§ 313, 314 BGB apply to the transfer, what an adjustment, withdrawal or termination means for the registration and whether anything follows from this for the mother with regard to other rooms; whether a Leibgeding or Altenteil agreement exists; which facilities are communal within the meaning of § 1093(3) BGB; the scope of the obligations to tolerate; the scope of the return under § 531(2) BGB; the implementation of an agreed relocation in the land register.

Not covered by this article: a purely contractual (schuldrechtlich) right of residence, tenancy, tax valuation, income tax on a compensation payment, social assistance, state law in detail, claims in the case of deprivation or withholding of possession, foreign law and prospects in litigation. Case law was not evaluated for this article.

Related articles: The design of the transfer, the compulsory portion and compulsory auction are covered in the article Transferring a house with a lifelong right of residence, the care home case in the article Right of residence and care home, the tax value in the article Calculating the right of residence and usufruct in the guide to usufruct. You can find all articles on transferring real estate in the topic area Transferring a house.

Statutory texts, retrieved on 31 October 2026 from gesetze-im-internet.de; Art. 96 EGBGB was read separately in the version following the amendment of 22 October 2026:

• § 242 BGB, Performance in good faith
• § 313 BGB, Interference with the basis of the transaction
• § 314 BGB, Termination of continuing obligations for good cause
• § 530 BGB, Revocation of a gift
• § 531 BGB, Declaration of revocation
• § 532 BGB, Exclusion of revocation
• § 875 BGB, Cancellation of a right
• § 1004 BGB, Claim for removal and injunction
• § 1020 BGB, Considerate exercise
• § 1023 BGB, Relocation of the exercise
• § 1027 BGB, Interference with a praedial servitude
• § 1041 BGB, Maintenance of the thing
• § 1061 BGB, Death of the usufructuary
• § 1090 BGB, Statutory content of the limited personal servitude
• § 1092 BGB, Non-transferability; leaving the exercise to others
• § 1093 BGB, Right of residence
• Art. 96 EGBGB
• § 19 GBO
• § 29 GBO
• § 7 ErbStG, Gifts inter vivos

This article is general information based on the statutory texts cited and does not replace individual legal or tax advice. Which route suits your family depends on the transfer agreement, the content of the land register and the interests of both sides. If you would like your situation assessed, you can arrange an initial consultation.