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I am subletting a room in a university hostel from a friend who is technically my landlord. The contract ends on the 28th of February. I have been away from the country and will be back on 25/02/2021. The tenant I am subletting from is sending the following messages to me, making demands.

I'm arranging for someone to collect the spare key and bring yor stuff out of the room since the key you sent is being delayed. If you'll arrive during work hours, it will be good to bring the key when you arrive. If not, he will bring the key before you arrive and keep your stuff in his room Normally they allow only 30mins to return the key to them

Now, the room needs to be evacuated before end of this week. If you’ll arrive during work hours, he will wait for you. If not he will collect the key ahead of your arrival to make sure you get your stuff at all. Otherwise, you won’t have your stuff.

I don't have the key because he requested I send it to Germany because he needed to get in to access property he was selling.

I wanted to leave the property on 01/03/2021, and pay any fines from returning the key a day after the contract ends on 28/02/2021.

Does a landlord have the right to force me to evacuate the room I am subletting before the last day of the tenancy contract?

Can I call German police on a tenant who wants me to evacuate the room I am subletting before the last day of the tenancy contract?

I would like to know what actions I could take.

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    None that would be worth the effort. If the contract ends on the 28th then that is your last day, not the first of the next month. That does not give your landlord the right to move your stuff without a court order, but any legal procedure you may start will be too late in any case, and since you do not seek to be reinstated as a tenant there is nothing to be gained. Make clear you will hold him responsible if any of your stuff goes missing, that's realistically the only thing you can do. If a "university hostel" is a "Studentenwohnheim", the arrangement is probably not legal to start with.
    – user9838
    Feb 23, 2021 at 21:09
  • He might be able to call the police on you for trespassing if you stay past the date you are legally entitled to be there. Depends on German law though.
    – JohnFx
    Feb 23, 2021 at 22:50
  • If there are reason that the landlord is taking this action? Also, I think but don't know that you mean "vacate" (leave, depart from) rather than "evacuate" (vacate under circumstances when some sort of external force such as a natural disaster or fire or disease outbreak makes it necessary to leave).
    – ohwilleke
    Feb 24, 2021 at 0:17
  • @JohnFx legally this is all a bit murky, but I think the bigger danger would be that the landlord can claim damages if he cannot rent out the room to another tenant at an agreed date (provided the sublet is legal, which I doubt). Given that this will probably not end well for anybody involved, having his stuff moved might be the best option for the OP. But the police usually is involved only if there is clear and present danger or if they enforce a court order.
    – user9838
    Feb 24, 2021 at 12:48
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    @EikePierstorff Point taken. I think the thrust of my comment was that the Landlord would be the aggrieved party, not the tenant in this scenario.
    – JohnFx
    Feb 24, 2021 at 15:42

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If the last day is a holiday, Sunday or Saturday: No.
Otherwise: It depends.

Pursuant to § 546 BGB, tenant must return the rented object after the end of the lease. https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_bgb/englisch_bgb.html#p1998

If this were taken literally, it would mean that the rented object is due for return at midnight. However, nobody can reasonably demand handing over a rented object at such an unearthly hour. Now the question is, if the landlord can't demand handover at midnight, when shall the object be handed over then?

One thing that is clear is that if the last day of the month falls on a public holiday or a weekend, landlords cannot demand that a rented object be handed over on that day. In this case, the rented object needs to be handed over on the next business day by 12h.

In your case, you happen to be lucky because 2021-02-28 happens to be a Sunday.

If the lease was to end on a business day, things would be a bit more complicated because there is no BGH judgement yet on this matter, so lower courts hold different opinions on this question. Some courts claim that the rented object must be returned on the last day of the lease, others say it's the first business day that follows.

Btw, there would be no fine for returning the rented object one day late. All you would have to pay for is “usage compensation”, i. e. 1/31 of the monthly rent for each day you occupied the rented object.

Further reading (in German): https://www.mietrecht.org/kuendigung/letzter-miettag-wochenende-feiertag/

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