City of Munich to Pay for Expensive Private Daycare – Family Sued

Coverage of Costs for Private Nursery

A judgment that demands attention: In a model lawsuit, the city of Munich was ordered to reimburse a family for the costs of an expensive private daycare.

The city had not fulfilled its legal obligation to provide a daycare spot. In this specific case, a family registered their need for care for a child under 3 at the end of September 2013, after which the city of Munich should have provided a childcare spot by April 1, 2014.

The competent authority then offered several places with childminders, which did not meet the needs of the working mother (a dentist) – the care times did not suit her, and the childminders were too far away. A distance of 30 minutes by subway was deemed as unreasonable as buying a car or using car-sharing services, ruled the judge of the Bavarian Administrative Court, who was already dealing with the case in the second instance.

The youth welfare organization "didn't get off the ground" and violated its duties, justified the judge of the Bavarian Administrative Court's Ansbach branch in his decision. The available childminder places were a "take it or leave it offer." All six of the city's alternative offers were far from the "ideal image of walking distance." Therefore, the city of Munich should reimburse the difference between the maximum amount payable in a municipal kindergarten (€400) and the actual amount paid in the private nursery (€1380) for several months, namely until the date on which the city offered the family a place in a municipal daycare, July 1, 2014.

The city of Munich has already announced that it will appeal and challenge the verdict. Then, the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig will make the final decision, which all municipal youth welfare offices will await anxiously. If this judgment holds, then significant budgetary risks will loom over the municipalities, as more parents might decide to sue their city due to an unsuitable or unavailable childcare place.

Moreover, the pressure on municipalities to rapidly continue expanding daycare centers would increase, which has already been pursued intensively in recent years, but in many places still lags far behind demand. Although since August 1, 2013, according to the law, all children from their first birthday have had the right to a daycare place, many cities cannot provide this for all families. Until now, most parents who were left without a spot were content to remain on the waiting list or accept long distances for care by childminders. This could change in the future.

Background information: The Federal Statistical Office reported a record last week—around 721,000 children under the age of three were in care by day parents or nurseries in March 2016. That's nearly 4% more than the previous year. Nevertheless, the demand for childcare places is still not met and continues to rise steadily in many cities.

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