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You can do this if the utility bill is too high

2021-04-09T14:31:31.792Z


By the end of the year at the latest, the utility bill must land in the tenant's mailbox. In the event of mistakes, tenants can also claim money back.  


By the end of the year at the latest, the utility bill must land in the tenant's mailbox.

In the event of mistakes, tenants can also claim money back.  

  • Tenants should

    check

    their

    utility bill to ensure

    that the

    2019 utility

    bill

    deadline has been

    met

  • If the

    utility bill is too high

    , you should

    file an

    objection

  • The

    identity card for household-related services in the utility

    bill

    can be important

    for the

    tax return

According to a survey by the Berlin service company Mineko, 81 percent of the 55,124 ancillary cost bills checked - also known as utility bills - were incorrect.

Due to complex regulations, private landlords are often overwhelmed with the creation.

Tenants should therefore check the utility bill.

The biggest impact is heating costs.

Because these tended to increase in 2019, many tenants only receive a small repayment of their advance payments for the 2019 accounting year or even have to make an additional payment.

For the 2020 billing period, higher repayments are expected due to the fall in energy prices due to the corona pandemic.

If there are errors in the utility bills or if the deadline has not been met, tenants can often claim back more money than is shown in the bills.

Landlords and tenants should therefore know which additional costs can be passed on to the rent and which deadlines they have to meet.

If you need help, you can use templates or samples as a guide or, as a tenant, have your utility bill checked externally.

How does the utility bill work?

Most tenants transfer the second rent to their landlord in addition to the basic rent - the advance payments for heating costs and other operating costs.

The tenant only has to pay these operating costs in addition to the basic rent if they have been agreed in the rental contract and also comply with the provisions of the Operating Costs Ordinance.

According to the regulation, property management costs, maintenance and repair costs, i.e. repair costs, are not operating costs.

These costs may not be passed on to the rent.

At the end of a billing period, the landlord must prepare a clear and understandable billing of the operating costs.

A proper utility bill for buildings with several residential units must indicate which apartment the bill specifically relates to.

The billing must contain a summary of the total costs, the underlying distribution key and an explanation as well as the calculation of the tenant's share.

In addition, the tenant's advance payments must be deducted from the operating costs in order to show a repayment or additional payment on the resulting invoice balance. 

What additional costs are to be paid by the tenant?

The German Tenants' Association publishes an annual operating cost table showing the ancillary costs incurred in Germany.

In the 2018 accounting year, tenants had to pay an average of EUR 2.17 per square meter per month for the usual operating costs.

If additional types of operating costs were added, the costs add up to EUR 2.81.

According to the amount, these were heating costs and hot water (47 percent or EUR 1.03), water supply and sewage disposal (16 percent / EUR 0.34), caretakers with building cleaning and gardening (14 percent / EUR 0.30), insurance (ten percent / 0.21 euros).

Property tax as well as the costs for elevator, separately billed building cleaning (each nine percent / 0.19 euros), garbage disposal (eight percent / 0.18 euros), cable television (six percent / 0.13 euros) and separately billed garden maintenance (five percent / 0.11 euros).

The costs for general electricity, street cleaning, chimney cleaning and "other costs" (swimming pool, sauna, roof cleaning) accounted for less than three percent.

Depending on the region, type and age of the building, there were large differences in the individual operating costs and in total.

Statute of limitations: which deadlines apply

According to the law (§ 556 Paragraph 3 BGB), the tenant must receive the utility bill no later than the end of the twelfth month after the end of the billing period.

For the 2019 calendar year as the billing period, the landlord had to have received the bill by December 31, 2020.

Eligible additional payments should then be paid promptly, as otherwise there is a risk of dunning fees.

If the tenant has doubts about the correctness of the invoice, he must object within the cancellation period - twelve months after receipt of the invoice.

If a landlord does not submit the utility bill within three years, it becomes statute-barred.

The landlord is then no longer entitled to outstanding payments.

This limitation period begins at the beginning of the coming year after receipt of the service charge statement.

If the tenant was sent the invoice on October 10, 2020, in compliance with the accounting deadline, the three-year period begins to count from January 1, 2021.

The tenant can refuse to pay from January 1, 2024 by pointing out the statute of limitations.

Contradiction: The most common mistakes in utility billing

The inspection portal for utility billing, Mineko, named as top 10 billing errors: 1. Missed billing deadline, 2. Operating costs not agreed in the lease, 3. Repair costs were invoiced, 4. Higher consumption of commercial space was not taken into account by an advance deduction for tenants, 5. from Costs to be borne by landlords due to vacant apartments were passed on to landlords.

Also 6. account management fees were incorrectly allocated to the ancillary costs, 7. incorrect billing period was used, 8. an incorrect distribution key was used, or 9. administrative costs were allocated, and 10. usage-based and usage-independent costs were mixed with one another.

For their tax return, many tenants also need household-related services (e.g. garden service, winter service) to be shown in the utility bill in order to save taxes.

Templates, samples and who can check the utility bill

As members of Haus und Grund - the interest group of apartment owners - landlords can download templates for utility bills free of charge.

Regional home and landowner associations sometimes offer advice and information on this.

Tenants who want to have their utility bill checked can have this done through some regional tenants 'associations and the tenants' association.

Some offer free online checks for this.

The Stiftung Warentest also offers help.

There are also legal service providers who check the utility bill for a fee.

Mineko, for example, charges 49 euros for this.

By Ulrich Lohrer

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-04-09

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