I wouldn't call it "merely inconvenienced" depending on the landlord and situation. Elderly people who are renting out a spare unit usually can't afford large

I wouldn't call it "merely inconvenienced" depending on the landlord and situation. Elderly people who are renting out a spare unit usually can't afford large amounts of damages or court fees. Also if your mortgaged backed it can be fairly financially ruinous while your waiting for repairs to be done and you have no rental income. People who also ruin places tend to be judgement proof too. I'm guessing Germany is more civilized than SF, so these worries are not as high, but I suspect it's part of the reason why places like berlin have supply issue despite a %5 vacancy rate in some buildings.