- Check every service charge statement. Around 80 % contain errors, mostly to the tenant's disadvantage.
- Only operating costs agreed in the tenancy agreement and listed in § 2 Betriebskostenverordnung may be passed on to you.
- The statement must reach you within twelve months of the end of the accounting period (§ 556 Abs. 3 BGB). If it arrives later, the landlord loses the right to any shortfall.
- You raise objections in writing within twelve months of receiving the statement.
Paying too much rent?
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Why should you have your service charge statement checked?
Around 80 % of all service charge statements contain errors, in new builds and old buildings alike. Often the shortfall demanded is too high, or the landlord passes on costs that are not chargeable.
Use your right and check every statement. In many cases you can reclaim overpaid advance payments. The check takes an hour and often saves several hundred euros.
What are service charges?
Service charges (Nebenkosten) are the operating costs of a tenancy that arise for a flat or house on top of the monthly rent. The landlord may pass these costs on to tenants, and they are usually set out in the tenancy agreement. The landlord must draw up a service charge statement once a year and deliver it to the tenant no later than 12 months after the end of the accounting period (§ 556 Abs. 3 BGB). The accounting period does not have to match the calendar year.
If the landlord misses this delivery deadline, the tenant does not have to pay any shortfall from such a late statement.
The Betriebskostenverordnung sets out which costs count as service charges. There are cold and warm service charges. The following operating costs can appear in a statement:
- Hot water and heating costs
- Property tax (Grundsteuer)
- Cold water
- Refuse collection
- Building cleaning and street cleaning
- Winter service (gritting and snow clearing)
- Caretaker (Hausmeister)
- Garden maintenance
- Pest control
- Chimney sweep (for buildings with a chimney)
- Lighting outside the flat
- Lift operation
- Operation of a shared laundry room
- Communal aerial or cable connection
- Certain insurance policies (e.g. building insurance)
- Other service charges
How is a service charge statement drawn up correctly?
If the tenancy agreement does not say exactly how the costs are split between tenants, the cold operating costs are shared between all tenants in proportion to floor area (§ 556a Abs. 1 BGB). Cold operating costs are all service charges of a building except heating and hot water.
Warm service charges must by law be billed largely according to consumption. For heating costs, between 50 and 70 per cent must be billed by consumption (§ 7 Heizkostenverordnung). The remaining share of warm costs is calculated by proportionate floor area.
What is an allocation key?
A service charge statement uses an allocation key (Umlageschlüssel or Verteilerschlüssel), which sets out how the operating costs are divided between the individual flats. This key must be visible in the statement and fixed in the tenancy agreement.
The following allocation keys can be used for service charges:
- By proportionate consumption
- By proportionate floor area
- By number of persons
- By residential unit
The 10 most common errors in service charge statements
A service charge statement is not a rough estimate: every cost item must be billed correctly. With so many items and allocation keys, that is not easy, and errors creep in quickly.
1. Wrong service charges
A common error is listing items that are not chargeable. These costs, for example, are not chargeable and do not belong in a service charge statement:
- The landlord's administration costs
- Bank charges and interest
- Legal expenses or contents insurance
- Repair costs
- Maintenance costs
- Purchase costs for smoke detectors
- Costs for unlet flats in the same building
2. Late statement
The tenant must have the statement no later than 12 months after the agreed end of the accounting period (§ 556 Abs. 3 Satz 2 BGB). What counts is the day it lands in your letterbox. If the tenant receives it after this date, the landlord can no longer demand a shortfall unless the delay was not his fault. Any credit must still be paid out.
3. Wrong accounting period
A statement may cover a maximum of 12 months. It may only contain costs that arose in this period.
4. Incorrect heating cost statement
When billing heating costs, the landlord is bound by the Heizkostenverordnung. To pass on 50-70 % of heating costs by consumption, meters must be installed in the flat. Flat-rate heating charges independent of consumption are not allowed. If the landlord does not bill by consumption, you may reduce your share by 15 % (§ 12 Heizkostenverordnung).
5. Incomplete statements
A correct statement must contain certain information: the accounting period, the allocation key, all cost items, the total service charges, the tenant's share and the advance payments made.
6. One-off costs
Operating costs may only be costs that arise regularly in running the building. One-off costs may not be passed on to the tenant.
7. No way to verify
Tenants must be able to check their statement. That means they have the right to inspect all underlying receipts, invoices, contracts and delivery notes in the original. If the landlord refuses access, you may withhold the shortfall until you get it.
8. Commercial premises wrongly included
If the building contains commercial premises such as shops or offices, these usually generate higher operating costs because businesses consume more. If this places a significant extra burden on residential tenants, the landlord must list and bill commercial and residential units separately.
9. Vacancy costs not deducted
An unlet flat in the building must not appear in the statement. The landlord bears the running costs of that flat himself, so vacancy costs must be taken out of the statement.
10. Other service charges
Not every item named as ‘other service charges’ in the agreement is a legally recognised cost. Recognised items include a porter, alarm and CCTV systems, a communal sauna or heating and cleaning gutters. The item must be named specifically in the tenancy agreement.
If you find one of these errors, object in writing. If you are unsure, have the statement checked by the tenants' association (Mieterverein) or a specialist tenancy lawyer.
Where can you have your service charge statement checked for free?
Three places check your statement: the local Mieterverein, the consumer advice centre (Verbraucherzentrale) and a specialist tenancy lawyer (Fachanwalt für Mietrecht). At the Mieterverein the check is included in the annual fee; many associations advise you shortly after you join. The Verbraucherzentrale of your federal state offers tenancy law advice for a small fee. A specialist lawyer checks the statement for a fee; if you have legal expenses insurance with tenancy cover, it pays. Bring your tenancy agreement, the statement and last year's statement to the appointment.
A professional check covers all formal, legal and arithmetical criteria: a missed delivery deadline, the allocation of shared areas to individual tenants, or the stated floor area.
While you are at it, check your base rent too. If you pay too much rent, you can have it checked for free at CONNY (rent cap, Mietpreisbremse, § 556d BGB). In areas with a Mietpreisbremse, the rent at the start of the tenancy may be at most 10 % above the local reference rent.
Statement checked & errors found: what now?
If you have found errors, object to the service charge statement. Do this in writing, no later than twelve months after receiving the statement (§ 556 Abs. 3 Satz 5 BGB). After this deadline your objections are barred. Name each error specifically: the item, the amount and the reason, for example ‘administration costs are not chargeable under § 1 Abs. 2 BetrKV’. Request access to the receipts at the same time. If you pay a disputed shortfall at all, pay only under reservation (unter Vorbehalt).
Frequently asked questions about checking the service charge statement
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