Cancel your gym membership after moving: Must you keep paying?

The case: Military reassignment, but membership fees remained payable

The customer entered into a contract with a gym in Hanover in 2010. After becoming a fixed-term soldier, he was posted first to Cologne, then to Kiel and later to Rostock. He stopped paying membership fees and gave notice of termination. The gym claimed EUR 719.90 for the remaining contractual period. The Federal Court of Justice dismissed his appeal on points of law against the Hanover Regional Court judgment against him (operative part; paragraphs 1 to 5 and 10).

The judgment dates from 2016. It addresses who bears the risk that personal plans change during a fixed contractual term. The specific sum was an outstanding balance under that contract, not a standard cancellation charge.

Why moving alone does not create a special right to terminate

An ongoing contract may be terminated for good cause if continuing it would be unreasonable after considering all circumstances and both parties’ interests (section 314(1) BGB). With a gym contract, however, the customer generally bears the risk of being unable to use the available service because their personal circumstances change. According to the Federal Court of Justice, moving home normally falls within that sphere, including a move for work (paragraphs 11 to 13 and 20 to 21).

This does not make every obstacle irrelevant. The court identifies illness or pregnancy as circumstances that may make continued use unreasonable (paragraph 12). This is not an automatic right arising from every illness. Exceptional circumstances require a specific assessment. In the relocation case, the court found no such circumstances; its considerations included the contractual option to pause membership and the customer’s remaining residence in Hanover (paragraph 22).

Check your own contract first

Our practical assessment: Before debating a statutory right to terminate early, check whether the gym has promised a more favourable arrangement. A relocation clause may require particular evidence, distances or notice periods, for example. Its actual wording matters. The judgment does not establish a general distance threshold.

A mutually agreed termination, transfer to another branch or pause may also be negotiated. These are possible agreements, not rights guaranteed by this judgment. Record the end date, outstanding fees and any extension following a pause expressly.

Why the contract date matters for renewal

In the case before the Federal Court of Justice, the old contract renewed for twelve months at a time unless notice was given three months in advance (paragraph 2). These terms must not simply be applied to present-day contracts. Contractual obligations arising on or after 1 March 2022 are subject to the new version of section 309 no. 9 BGB; older obligations remain subject to the previous version in this respect (Article 229 section 60 sentence 2 EGBGB).

For standard terms concerning regular services or work, section 309 no. 9(b) BGB permits a binding tacit renewal only for an indefinite period and with a right to terminate at any time on no more than one month’s notice. The rule does not create a general right to leave after one month during an initial term that is still running.

The services covered by the contract still matter: The Federal Court of Justice did not apply section 309 no. 9 BGB to an agreement limited to use of premises and equipment. Its default judgment of 8 February 2012, XII ZR 42/10, provides a supplementary example (paragraphs 16 to 18). The appellate judgment was set aside and the case remitted. This does not create a blanket right for every gym customer to terminate.

A further, separate point is the cancellation button for paid ongoing consumer contracts that can be concluded online. Section 312k(1), (2) and (6) BGB sets specific requirements and provides a right to terminate without a notice period if these requirements are breached. Our article on missing cancellation buttons, linked below, explains the conditions.

What to do if the gym keeps collecting payments

First establish when the contract actually ends. The Federal Court of Justice upheld the further membership fees in the case it decided; moving away alone therefore neither ends the contract nor automatically creates a refund entitlement. Reversing a direct debit is no substitute for this assessment. If you dispute a demand, identify the specific objection and supporting evidence.

• Gather the contract, the standard terms applicable at the time, the contract date and previous renewals.
• Compare the relocation clause and any promises already made by the gym with the available evidence.
• Give ordinary notice to terminate at the earliest available date, even if you also seek an earlier termination, and document receipt.
• Preserve debit records and the statement of amounts claimed. Ask the gym for its calculation of the outstanding balance and the contractual end date it assumes.
• Before agreeing to a pause or branch transfer, check whether it creates a new commitment or additional costs.