“The court believes it is clear that the termination of the tenancy on the part of the defendant is a hardship …, but this does not outweigh the legitimate interests of the landlord,” the Bild newspaper reported, quoting from the ruling.
Over a year ago, the 3 800-strong village had been assigned additional migrants to the 40 existing asylum seekers. The local council then decided to accommodate the immigrants in Roth’s 150 square meter apartment.
Roth and his partner, who were two years younger, refused to leave the premises, and the municipality sued them. In the meantime, at least six migrants of the nine who had arrived are to be housed in Roth’s apartment, it said.
Roth, who has had several strokes and suffers from asthma and diabetes, must now leave the apartment by September 30. According to local media, Roth is well known in the village. Most recently, he helped as a driver for the nursing club and looked after senior citizens.
Ironically, when hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers flocked to Germany within a few months in 2015, Roth was active in helping them: He collaborated with the Asylum Working Group at the time.