Deferral of or Exemption from Tuition Fees Pursuant to the State Budget Regulations (LHO)
Because deferral of tuition fees is offered interest-free, the Hamburg Higher Education Act version dated September 23, 2008 has tightened the exemption and deferral regulations. The law no longer includes any provision for unreasonable hardship. As a result, deferral or exemption on grounds of hardship is now only possible under the narrowly defined conditions of the State Budget Regulations (LHO) and the accompanying implementation rules.
Students applying for deferral or exemption under the LHO may only cite economic and financial circumstances. No other circumstances can be taken into consideration.
Moreover, according to § 59 LHO claims may only be deferred if immediate recovery would entail considerable hardships for the claimant and the claim is not put at risk by deferral. Deferral is to be granted in return for payment of appropriate interest and as a rule only against a security.
Claims may only be waived if in the individual circumstances recovery would mean special hardship for the defendant. A waiver can only be considered if deferral is ruled out.
Consequently, a situation must exist that cannot be dealt with by claiming deferral entitlement pursuant to § 6 c of the Hamburg Higher Education Act. The individual must be unable to fend off the circumstances and they must lead to a plight of existential significance that the person involved cannot find a way out of, or only at unreasonable expense.
The Hamburg University of Technology can only defer or grant exemption from tuition fees if immediate collection would entail considerable hardship for the applicant. Considerable hardship exists if, for example, the applicant, due to unfavorable economic conditions, is temporarily in serious payment difficulties, or would be so if the tuition fee were to be collected immediately.
Interest is charged on deferred receivables. As a rule the interest rate is 2% above the current base rate, pursuant to § 247 of the German Civil Code. (The base rate changes on January 1 and July 1 each year. The current rate is 3.19%).