BGH parents are not allowed to cancel a kindergarten place without notice

BGH: Two-month notice period is appropriate

Karlsruhe (jur). If children can not get accustomed to a kindergarten, the parents are not allowed to simply cancel the daycare contract without observing a notice period. The Kita operator may demand in his terms and conditions a two-month notice period, but not compensation for government subsidies that have fallen away because of the unoccupied Kita-Platz, ruled on Thursday, 18 February 2016, the Federal Court (BGH) in Karlsruhe (Az .: III ZR 126/15). Also, deposit payments that the parents have to raise must not be too high. At least 1,000 euros disadvantaged the parents inappropriately, so the III. Civil Senate of the BGH.

A father had filed a lawsuit for his 16-month-old son. September 9, 2013 was the child's first day care day. The son was cared for and fed there. The father also paid a deposit of 1,000 euros.

Do not just quit: Kitaplatz. Picture: Sergey Novikov

But the Kita visit lasted only briefly. The child was unable to get used to it, so the father terminated the contract with immediate effect only ten days later. He demanded the deposit paid back.

But the day care provider did not want to accept the immediate termination of the contract. He set another bill. The father is obliged to observe the notice period until 30 November 2013, two calendar months. Until then, he would have to pay the care allowance and the fixed food and care package, a total of 1,590 euros.

The Kita operator wanted more. As the child no longer visits the facility, the Kita had escaped state and municipal funding. Because the day care place could not be occupied immediately. The father would therefore have to pay another 2,495 euros as damages.

The BGH ruled that parents can not just dissolve a daycare contract without notice, just because their child has not really settled. You would have to stick to the notice periods. These were not unduly long with two calendar months.

But the judges in Karlsruhe also rebuke the Kita operator. This had demanded a much too high security deposit. A deposit of € 1,000 deprives the parents inappropriately.

Also compensation for the lost public funding is not up to the operator. Because parents could not be obliged to bring their child regularly in the day care center. This was incompatible with the parent's right of care and education as enshrined in the Basic Law.

Of the monthly contributions to be paid during the period of notice, the father could also deduct saved costs of the kindergarten, for example for unused meals. With monthly food allowances, however, these would have to be paid in full in the current month. (Fle / mwo)