City of Offenbach fights for tenants in Kaiserlei
13.11.2025
In view of their landlord's considerable payment arrears to the City of Offenbach and to the water, waste and energy suppliers, Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke reacted immediately a good two weeks ago and has since made it clear several times in public that he will stand up for the rights of around 150 tenants of a residential property on Kaiserlei, who have had to make do without heating and hot water ever since.
Lord Mayor Dr. Felix SchwenkeWith winter approaching, the city will not tolerate the landlord making a profit and refusing to pay.
"With winter approaching, the city will not tolerate the landlord making a profit and refusing to make payments while around 150 tenants are left out in the cold," says Mayor Schwenke, reiterating his criticism of what is happening. As he announced at the end of October, Schwenke has in the meantime brought all those involved to the table for a coordinated approach to the owner company and agreed to concentrate on those means that have the best legal prospects.
Last week, Schwenke set up a task force at short notice, which has met several times since then, twice under the leadership of the Lord Mayor and with the participation of other full-time members of the city council. The background to this is that not only has the landlord not paid numerous bills, but the tenants living there currently have no functioning heating. Energieversorgung Offenbach AG (EVO) is currently unable to change this because the landlord's district heating system is not in proper working order. "We immediately made it clear to the landlord via our building inspectorate last week that he must repair the system immediately so that heat can be supplied again," says City Planning Officer Paul-Gerhard Weiß.
If the landlord does not comply with this request, the city will issue a corresponding immediately enforceable order under threat of substitute performance. "We only carry out substitute performance in absolutely exceptional cases, because otherwise indecent landlords can rest on their laurels. It costs money at first. But in view of the approaching winter, in this particular case we are sticking to our previously announced policy of doing everything we can to ensure that it gets warm again as quickly as possible," says Mayor Schwenke. "We will of course get the money back from the landlord afterwards - if he still has the means of payment," Schwenke continues. Behind these clear lines is extensive detailed work for the offices involved, as can be seen from a small excerpt: Due to insufficient cooperation from the landlord, EVO had to obtain access to the boiler room by court order in the past. The building inspectorate also had to order access by force so that it could assess the situation on site in a court of law. This also involves the question of which measures trigger which liability risks.
Last week, the specialist offices reviewed the situation for the political decision-makers and came to an agreement. The most unpleasant steps for the landlord would be an application to initiate insolvency proceedings, an application to initiate forced sale and an application for forced administration. Mayor Schwenke had made it clear within the task force, as he had previously done publicly, that there is full political backing for all of these steps - whichever ones are then chosen: "Under no circumstances will the city of Offenbach stand idly by and watch as the people living there are blatantly exploited - there is no other way to put it."
The enforcement of debts owed to the city is the responsibility of City Treasurer Martin Wilhelm: "It is very good that we live in a constitutional state. That is why a number of preliminary steps must always be taken before the toughest measures can be enforced. Just one example is the setting of penalty payments: If these in turn are not paid, then garnishments on company accounts, attachments to company addresses and other steps follow, for example," says Wilhelm. "The specialist department has initiated all steps that a court could consider to have legal priority, even in the event of imminent danger."
For fees, such as for water and waste, as well as levies and fines, the city has the option of collecting these directly in administrative enforcement proceedings - without further court involvement. In the case of consumption bills, such as for district heating from EVO or electricity, the legal situation is somewhat more complicated, as these outstanding debts must first be secured in the land register. Receivables from ESO, ZWO and the municipal offices are therefore processed on a consolidated basis by the city's enforcement office. In addition, an exchange with the EVO is necessary to the extent permitted by law.
"The clock is now ticking for the landlord. Either he responds immediately in accordance with his obligation or the city will take all legally permissible measures. We have examined all options and decided on the most effective instrument from a legal perspective in this case. This week, the city council has apparently inadvertently speculated publicly about what this might be, but of course we won't tell the landlord the exact details beforehand," emphasizes Mayor Schwenke. "It is important not to jeopardize the success of our approach to the owner company."
Compulsory orders against the owner
As city councillor Paul-Gerhard Weiß, who is responsible for building supervision, has already been issuing various enforcement orders to the owner for many months. Replacement measures have also already been initiated following a fire to ensure that the façade is secured, which the owner company has not yet repaired. The city is also putting pressure on the elevator in the ten-storey building to be put back into operation: after all, the representative of the owner company has now submitted proof of payment stating that the spare parts for the elevator have been ordered and should be delivered in the third or fourth calendar week of the new year. "Here, too, we are staying on the ball so that the installation is carried out immediately and no further weeks pass," says Weiß.
Councillor Weiß also adds: "It is true that the owner is planning an office building there, for which a positive preliminary building permit had to be issued some time ago. The project complies with the requirements of the existing development plan and the Hessian building regulations as well as the fundamental development goals of the city of Offenbach for the Kaiserleiviertel. If, as is the case here, everything about a project complies with the law, the owner also has a legal right to have the positive preliminary building permit extended upon application," explains Weiß. This also applies regardless of whether or not the owner actually builds in a timely manner given the economic situation on the office market.
Mayor Schwenke emphasizes: "Even if the planned building project is in line with the development goals for the Kaiserlei, this is of course not a license for the owner to use indecent methods to drive tenants out of the building. Ownership is an obligation. Anyone who wants to use a building differently than at present is allowed to do so in Germany." However, Schwenke demands unequivocally: "But he must treat the people living in it decently! For example, they can support the tenants in their search for new apartments. Of course, this costs them money and time. But he shouldn't moan about that. After all, he bought the building voluntarily, so it must have been clear to him what he had to do if he wanted to change something. Withholding basic services from the apartments and jeopardizing the safety of the residents is unacceptable. That is why it remains the same: as a city, we will not stand idly by and do everything we can for the people there."
The city is thinking even further ahead: "We have taken the case as an opportunity to fundamentally review the processing structures for such cases," says Mayor Schwenke. "In future, similar to the working group on benefit abuse, a professional exchange will be organized every six months with all the necessary departments, including EVO, which will coordinate action at an earlier stage for particularly brazen cases and escalate to the political level if necessary," Schwenke explains. If necessary, the meeting will be chaired by Wilhelm, the city treasurer responsible for enforcement, and accompanied by Weiß, the head of the planning department responsible for building supervision. They will then also decide whether to involve the Lord Mayor. "This is a clear signal to this and all other real estate companies that proceed in a similar way," announce Wilhelm and Weiß.