New Laws and Regulations November 2015

Unlike previous months that have a whole collection of laws and regulations, November brings along very few changes this time.

Tenant Registration

A small change has been made to the Meldegesetz this month. From now on, everyone living in Germany will have to hand in a Vermieterbescheinigung during registration at the Einwöhnermeldeamt. This document will require information about the landlord, as well the tenant. This is aimed at ensuring that the government knows where everyone lives as well as to whom houses are rented out to. It is hoped this will reduce the number of people renting houses under false names and registration of addresses at the Einwöhnermeldeamt that are invalid.

The Bescheinigung, however doesn’t have to be signed directly by the landlord, could also be signed by the caretaker or the real estate agent that handles the signing of the rental contract.

Failure to present the Vermieterbescheinigung will cost you and your landlord a €1000 fine, while use of false information on it will cost you a €50,000 fine.

Here is a sample offered by the Amt in Ostholstein.

 

Safer Online Shopping

With increased cyberfraud, it has become important for safer payment methods to be introduced. With this new law, online shops will be required to introduce more steps into the payment methods they offer e.g. by requiring a TAN for those using a credit card. Doing away with the one-click payment method is believed to increase the safety of payments online.

This law comes into effect from 5th of November, but the online shops have until 2016 to ensure they comply with it.

 

Disposal of E-waste

Old electronics can be a hustle to dispose and in some towns an expense. This new law will allow you to hand back your old electronics to large shops like Mediamarkt and Saturn. This will be open for electronics up to 25cm wide, however, for electronics larger than 25cm wide, you will be required to buy a similar machine from the shop before handing in your old one.

 

Verordnung zum Asylverfahrensbeschleunigungsgesetz

This was to come into law this November but some politicians couldn’t wait and had it implemented a week earlier. Read here in case you still don’t know what it’s about. (READ: New Asylum Law to be in Force This Weekend)