Checking your Nebenkostenabrechnung: deadlines and costs
Step by step: how to check the yearly statement of your Nebenkosten (service charges) and object to errors in time.
First check that the landlord sent the statement within 12 months of the end of the billing period. Object to errors within 12 months of receiving it. If in doubt, pay only under reservation and say so clearly.
What to check in the statement
You do not need expert knowledge. Go through the statement in this order.
- 1
Check the deadline
Note the date you received the statement, and check that the landlord sent it in time.
- 2
Check the period
The statement must cover a billing period of one year.
- 3
Check the types of cost
The landlord can only pass on operating costs listed in § 2 BetrKV.
- 4
Check the allocation key
Check which key the landlord used to work out your flat's share of the costs.
- 5
Check the heating costs
50 to 70 percent of the heating and hot-water costs must be billed by consumption.
- 6
Check your advance payments
Compare the advance payments credited in the statement with what you actually paid.
Why this matters
Under § 556 Abs. 3 BGB, the landlord must send the statement within 12 months of the end of the billing period. If it comes later, the landlord can usually no longer ask for an extra payment. You must make your objections within 12 months of receiving the statement.
General information, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Can I see the documents behind the Nebenkostenabrechnung?
Yes, you can see the invoices, contracts and official notices the statement is based on (derived from § 259 BGB). If the landlord refuses, you can hold back an extra payment until you are allowed to see them.
What happens if the landlord sends the statement too late?
If the statement arrives more than 12 months after the end of the billing period, the landlord can usually no longer ask for an extra payment (§ 556 Abs. 3 BGB). You still get any credit.
How must heating costs be billed?
50 to 70 percent of the heating and hot-water costs must be billed by consumption, and the rest by floor area. If the landlord bills only by floor area although consumption can be measured, you can cut your share by 15 percent (§ 12 HeizkostenV).
Also in this topic: Register your address after moving in GermanyMietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung: do you have a right?Eigenbedarfskündigung: what tenants can doEnding your lease as a tenant in Germany: notice and formAll guides: Operating costs
Moving soon?
Move-in and move-out are the moments to record the flat's condition. BildProof captures every room and turns it into a condition report.
Create your proof