Which ancillary rental costs can be passed on to tenants?
Basically, in rental contract stand, which belongs to the ancillary costs. However, not all items have to be itemized. A reference to Section 2 of the Ordinance on Operating Costs (BetrKV) is sufficient. If this reference is not included, only the mentioned operating costs have to be paid. If nothing is mentioned in the rental agreement about the additional costs, none have to be paid!
the heating costs are usually the biggest cost factor in the utility bill – and one of the most common sources of error in the utility bill. Because heating costs, like hot water, must always be billed according to consumption.
When heating with oil and gas is one CO2 tax to be paid, which the tenants currently have to bear alone. However, this could change from 2023 if a phased model is to come into force. Then the CO2 tax would be divided between tenants and landlords depending on the energetic status of the building.
the property tax your landlord can pass it on to you. If the landlord lives in the house, however, he must also pay a part of the amount himself according to his share of the living space.
cold water and waste water may be billed together by the landlord. the Rainwater fee, surface drainage as well as costs of Legionella test may be billed to tenants.
the Elevator maintenance costs as a tenant on the ground floor, you also have to bear this proportionately.
fees for the street cleaning and garbage disposal may be added to the renter’s share. Incidentally, street cleaning also includes the costs of clearing and spreading snow and ice. If a landlord employs cleaning staff, for example to clean the stairwell, the financial expenses for both staff and cleaning supplies can be borne by the tenants.
costs for Maintenance and planting of a (front) garden tenants can also pay. The same also applies to tree felling work. However, the creation of a new garden is the sole responsibility of the landlord.
Would a landlord want the Costs for self-executed caretaker and gardener activities assert against the tenants, these must be broken down exactly. In addition, evidence of the average costs must be provided by the landlord.
alone Electricity costs for outdoor lighting and light in the hallway, basement, stairs, laundry room and shared attic rooms may be passed on to the tenants by the landlord. But not the cost of the lamps themselves.
the chimney cleaning tenants have to pay in full themselves. At a building superintendent the salary and the social security contributions can in principle also be passed on to the tenants. However, this does not apply to the full extent if the latter carries out housekeeping activities and repairs. Therefore may a flat rate of 20 percent of the caretaker costs are deducted if these are not itemized precisely. One gutter cleaning may only be billed to tenants if done regularly. The landlord is responsible for clearing a single blockage.
Servicing smoke detectors can only be passed on to the tenants if an agreement to this effect can be found in the rental agreement.
only the Residential building insurance, household liability insurance and water damage liability insurance must be borne by the tenants.
When signing the rental contract, tenants could contact the landlord directly until December 2021 cable connection apply for. The costs for this were also listed in the utility bill. Tenants should now be able to choose their cable provider themselves from December 2021. However, there is still a transition period until June 30, 2024.