Currently paying €1,700 (€200 euros of charges) per month for a 90 square metre apartment, the tenant hoped to reduce it to €1,100 (including charges).
There is precedent in Luxembourg's courts: in 2014, the tenant of a studio in Bettembourg managed to lower his rent from 600 to 250 euros.
The Limpertsberg apartment, purchased in 1957, could therefore be eligible for a significant rent reduction.
In January, the court ruled both requests from landlord and tenant to be admissible, and therefore engaged an expert to examine the situation more closely.
On 14 May, the expert published their report to much uproar - under the strict view of the law, the tenant could claim a rent of just €268 based on the apartment cost when purchased.
However, the expert also took into account current market prices, using Statec's construction index (which the expert mentioned was not wholly reliable), which would recommend a rent of €1,825.
The verdict was originally expected on Thursday 28 May, but the court has declared a break in deliberations due to coronavirus and the effects on rents.
In Luxembourg, rents have been frozen until the end of 2020 in order to protect tenants whose financial situations have been affected by the health crisis. This impacts the Limpertsberg case, as the owner is requesting a rent increase from the tenant.
A public hearing has therefore been scheduled for 11 June.
When contacted by RTL 5Minutes, the tenant offered no comment. An expert said in January that in principle, such a case should end in an arrangement, but this remains to be seen...
