Costs in Germany, namely , operating expenses for the apartment: the tenants and landlords are required to pay. Every year, the communities of homeowners, homeowners and tenants participate in the calculation of heating and operating costs.

Who holds what posts, what terms? Many nonessential rental bills are misprinted year after year. At the same time, the so-called second rent averages 34 percent of the total rent. There it is worth being precise.

Whoever owns the apartment has to pay monthly operating expenses due to the management of the apartment. But the owner doesn't have to pay for these costs alone - some of them can also be transferred to the tenant. However, for this to be possible, both parties must recognize the regulation in the lease. The so-called maintenance cost regulation determines which operating costs of the apartment are to be changed and which you, as the landlord, have to pay for yourself.

Most leases agree that the lessee bears the operating costs and prepay them on a monthly basis plus cold rent. The landlord is then required to pay it regularly. According to information from the German Tenant Association, every second calculation of additional costs with errors is encumbered. “The challenge is a real challenge for the layperson,” confirms Rainer Schmitt, lawyer for the Bavarian Owners Association. It's a shame when you miscalculate. “But form errors even make the calculation ineffective,” warns Schmitt. The owner can then pay for the costs that the tenant would have to pay.

Costs in Germany or what are operating costs (Betriebskosten) and what are utilities (Nebenkosten)?

In practice, the terms running costs and utilities are often used interchangeably. However, utilities include several items. Utilities include, for example, management, repair and maintenance costs. The Regulation on Operating Costs (BetrKV) states that “all costs incurred by the owner as a result of ownership of the apartment and its day-to-day management are considered operating costs”. According to the II Resolution on calculations, they include the following 17 positions:

Water supply
Canal fee (drainage)
Elevator cost
Lighting
Street cleaning / Garbage collection
Chimney cost
House cleaning
Garden care
Home washing machine (but not its repair cost!)
Antenna / cable TV
Homeowner / janitor (but not property manager)
Property and liability insurance (but not legal protection, repair costs, rental default or basic insurance)
Land tax (but not building or property tax)
Other operating costs (e.g. swimming pool, sauna, maintenance and testing of fire extinguishers, etc.)
Heating costs
Heating water
Heating and water supply systems
What running costs cannot be transferred?
The following costs in Germany must always be borne by the owner of the apartment himself:

Administrative expenses
Maintenance and repair costs
Price for not rented area
Account management fees or other bank charges
Income tax on rental income
One-off costs, such as pest control
How does the calculation of operating expenses work out?

Tenants pay a monthly surcharge for utilities such as water, heating costs, trash and janitor fees, in addition to cold rentals. This cold lease plus the Abschlag surcharge adds up to a warm lease. In the best case, the operating costs and the switchgear (Verteilerschlüssel) must be agreed upon in the lease agreement. The distribution key determines how the running costs of the house are transferred to the individual apartments.

Operating costs in Germany are paid by the tenant either as a one-time rate or as a prepayment, depending on the agreement in the lease. Rarely is there still a gross rent that already includes operating costs. This is where the landlord bears the risk of rising operating costs alone. New leases agree on either a one-off rate that the landlord does not have to charge, or a prepayment.

At the end of the billing year, all realized operating expenses in Germany are added up and compared to the tenant's surcharge. If the renter pays too much, he gets the difference back. However, the landlord may also ask for a surcharge. It is important that you check this. In addition, the landlord must explicitly state all settlement items.

How to create an operating cost estimate correctly
Anyone who has to submit a calculation of operating costs must know the rules. They are specified in the Civil Code § 556. We have summarized the most important for you:

The settlement period can be no more than twelve months. Even if the tenant leaves after a year and two months, two invoices must be made.

The tenant must receive the invoice no later than twelve months after the end of the billing period. The landlord can no longer claim the co-payment after this period. If you pay too much, the tenant can still dispute.
It is not enough to give the total amount. Individual items should be listed, from waste to hot water. You do not need to attach receipts, but the tenant has the right to view them.

The tenant must be able to computationally track how each amount is going. The valve key used for this must be named and explained.

It sounds trite, but wrong: all advance payments made by the tenant must be named and deducted from the actual operating expenses incurred.

What should be in the lease?
The slogan “The tenant assumes the operating costs” obliges the tenant to assume all costs in accordance with the regulation on operating costs. Only “ other expenses ” such as maintaining fire extinguishers and smoke detectors and cleaning gutters need to be named.

Be careful when buying rental properties: the existing lease continues to apply and it depends on the wording. If in doubt, only the items listed there are paid. The agreement can be changed only with the consent of the tenant.

What are the actual operating costs in Germany?
The German tenant union released a mirror of operating costs in October 2019, referring to 2017. According to this document, tenants pay an average of 2.16 euros in operating costs per square meter of living space per month. Review of posts:

Land tax 0.18 Euro
Water incl. Wastewater 0,35 euro
Heating incl. Hot water 1,03 Euro
Elevator 0.17 euro
Street cleaning 0,03 Euro
Garbage collection 0.17 euro
Building cleaning 0.18 Euro
Garden care 0.10 Euro
General electricity 0,05 Euro
Chimney cleaning 0,03 Euro
Insurance 0.19 Euro
Street cleaner 0,31 Euro
Homeowner (building cleaning, winter service) 0.15 euro
Antenna, cable 0.13 Euro
Another 0,03 Euro
Tenants in Germany pay the highest amounts for heating and hot water. On average € 1.03 is charged per month per square meter. In 2014 it was € 1.39 more. The fall is due to the fall in energy prices.

As a renter, you can use the annually published mirror to check if your calculation of operating costs is plausible.

Choosing the correct distribution key
Several distribution keys are entitled: by consumption, by living space, by residential units and by people. Heating and hot water are mostly billed according to consumption. That being said, the landlord is free to negotiate a transfer key.

Our advice for apartments: To keep the operating costs low, it makes sense to always choose a distributor key and stick to the lease that the owner community relies on.

This has the advantage that you can simply grab the data from the owner community's annual report without counting any further. By the way, the real estate agent in glenfield transfer key by people is never a good idea: every time the number of residents changes during the billing period, the landlord has to reallocate the costs in Germany again.

It is good to know : if there is no contractual scheme, the legal distribution key is used according to the share of the living space, that is, according to square meters.

Terms of payment of operating costs in Germany
If a monthly prepayment is agreed upon, the landlord must pay each rent separately once a year in writing. The calculation must be transferred to the tenant no later than the expiration of the twelfth month after the end of the billing period. If the calendar year is critical for billing, the deadline is December 31st. If the landlord misses the deadline, claims against the tenant are excluded. Unless, of course, the owner has no idea about the late payment. But the debt of the payment company must be calculated (case from the jurisprudence of the district court of the city of Cologne, 1 S 161/06).

According to BGH (VIII ZR 107/08), the lessor bears the risk that the invoicing will not reach the recipient in time. The decisive factor is not the date of the postmark, but the access to the tenant. If billing continues despite a reminder, the tenant may withhold additional upfront payments until the landlord actually settles the operating costs.