Operating costs are ongoing expenses incurred by the owner of a building for maintenance while the property is rented out. Operating costs should be distinguished from administrative costs as well as costs for maintenance and repairs.According to the statutory Operating Costs Ordinance (§ 2 BetrKV), a landlord may apportion recurring fees proportionally among the tenants in a multi-family residence. These include the following items: water supply, drainage, maintenance of the heating system, street and building cleaning, as well as waste disposal and pest control. Operating costs also include lighting for the parts of the building shared by the residents—such as hallways, basements, and outdoor areas—as well as chimney sweeping, any property and liability insurance, and the costs for the building superintendent or maintenance service. If there is an elevator or a garden, the fees for their maintenance may also be apportioned. Among tenants, the term “additional costs” has become more widely used. In substance, it is identical to the term “operating costs.”
Important Information in the Utility Bill
For the landlord’s utility bill to be valid, it must meet certain formal criteria. Otherwise, the landlord could lose the right to request additional payment if the actual operating costs exceed the tenants’ advance payments. In general, a utility bill should meet the following criteria: When stating the total costs, it is sufficient to indicate, for each type of utility cost, the total amount that the landlord allocates to the tenants of the selected billing unit. Another requirement is to specify how the total costs for a given type of utility cost are distributed among the respective tenants. This so-called allocation formula must be stated. This is because it must be clear which calculation steps were used to allocate the operating costs. For example, for utility costs allocated based on living area, the statement “Allocation based on living area” is sufficient. The allocation formula that landlords may use is determined by the allocation agreement with the tenant. If no specific agreement regarding the allocation of utility costs was made in the lease agreement, Section 556a of the German Civil Code (BGB) generally requires that the living space allocation formula be applied to all utility costs that are not consumption-based. Ultimately, the utility bill must also indicate which advance payments for utility costs were already made during the billing period. Landlords are therefore well advised to specify the amounts of advance payments on utility costs that were due (target advance payments) and those that were actually made (actual advance payments). The total of the actual advance payments must be deducted from the total utility costs. If the target advance payment is higher, the tenant must make an additional payment; if it is lower, the landlord must refund the excess amount to the tenant on a pro-rata basis. It is important for landlords to meet the deadline for delivering the utility bill. They must always submit it within twelve months. For the past year 2017, for example, this would be December 31, 2018. If the landlord misses this deadline, they must provide evidence that the delay was not caused by them, but rather, for example, by invoices received late.
Sources: (www.mietrecht.org, www.nebenkostenabrechnung.com)
