Corpus Hausverwaltung · Guide · November 2026
Which costs may be passed on
The landlord may only pass on operating costs that are agreed in the tenancy agreement (§ 556 Abs. 1 BGB). § 2 of the Operating Costs Ordinance (Betriebskostenverordnung, BetrKV) lists which costs these can be. They include:
- property tax
- water and waste water
- heating and hot water
- lift
- street cleaning and waste disposal
- building cleaning and pest control
- garden maintenance
- lighting of common areas
- chimney sweeping
- property and liability insurance
- caretaker
- other operating costs if they are expressly named in the tenancy agreement
Administration costs and costs of maintenance and repair cannot be passed on (§ 1 Abs. 2 BetrKV). Since 1 July 2024, the costs of a cable TV connection may also no longer be passed on as operating costs.
The deadlines
- Billing period: at most twelve months
- Statement deadline: The tenant must receive the statement no later than twelve months after the end of the billing period. After that, the landlord can no longer demand back payment unless he is not responsible for the delay (§ 556 Abs. 3 BGB). A credit in the tenant's favour must still be paid out.
- Objections: The tenant must raise objections no later than the end of the twelfth month after receiving the statement.
Heating costs and CO₂ costs
Under the Heating Costs Ordinance (Heizkostenverordnung), heating and hot water costs are mainly distributed according to consumption: as a rule, at least 50 and at most 70 percent according to measured consumption, the rest by floor area. Since 2023, landlords and tenants of residential buildings have also shared the CO₂ costs for heating oil and natural gas according to a tiered model based on the building's energy quality (Kohlendioxidkostenaufteilungsgesetz). The calculation belongs in the heating cost statement.
What a formally correct statement contains
- the billing period
- the total costs per cost type
- the allocation key used and its explanation, for example floor area or number of persons
- the tenant's share
- the advance payments made and the result
If one of these components is missing, the statement may be formally invalid.
Inspection of receipts
Tenants have the right to inspect the receipts for the statement. Landlords should therefore keep invoices, contracts and consumption data in good order. For a let condominium, the WEG's annual statement is the basis – but it is not the same as the operating cost statement for the tenant and has to be prepared accordingly.
Typical mistakes
- the statement arrives too late
- maintenance or administration costs are included
- cost types are not agreed in the tenancy agreement
- wrong or unexplained allocation key
- vacancy is not taken into account
- household-related services under § 35a EStG are not shown, although tenants ask for them
How we can help
Corpus Hausverwaltung prepares operating cost statements on time and in a comprehensible way – for apartment buildings under rental management and for let condominiums under individual unit management. We answer tenants' questions directly.
Further reading
Our guide articles give a general overview (as of November 2026) and do not replace legal advice in individual cases. The German version is binding.
