Apportionable house charges to tenants - What is permitted?

Are you a condominium owner and wondering whether you can apportion the house charges to the tenants? Basically, there are apportionable costs that you do not have to bear yourself. We explain to you which costs are apportionable and what you should pay attention to.  

What is the house money and who has to pay it?

The house charge is a type of ancillary cost for condominium owners. It is used to cover the common costs for the care, maintenance and management of the entire building. The house charge is paid each month in advance to the account of the condominium owners' association (WEG). Once a year, there is a house charge statement.

The legal basis for apportionable house charges

When it comes to passing on the house money to the tenants, you have to consider two points: firstly, your obligation to pay house money to the WEG, and secondly, the possibility of passing on part of the house money to the tenants if you have rented out your property.

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The legal basis for the house money

As a condominium owner, you are obliged to contribute to the costs of the WEG in accordance with § 16 Para. 2 S. 1 Wohnungseigentumsgesetz (WEG) you are obliged to contribute to the costs of the WEG according to your ownership share. Get the most important information on this topic in our article about housing costs.  

The legal basis for the apportionability of the house charge

According to Section 556 of the German Civil Code (BGB), landlords and tenants may agree that the latter shall bear the operating costs (ancillary costs) of their rented apartment. Therefore, if such an agreement is included in the rental contract, you can allocate part of the house charges to the tenant.

Which costs of the house charges are apportionable?

As you can see from § 556 of the German Civil Code (BGB), there is an important prerequisite for certain costs of the house charges to be apportionable: They must be incurred regularly. However, there are also costs that are incurred regularly and are nevertheless not apportionable or disputed, such as the removal of graffiti. 

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Which costs can actually be apportioned is primarily governed by the rental agreement. This usually also contains a reference to the currently valid version of the Operating and Heating Costs Ordinance. If you are unsure whether and which costs of the property charges are apportionable, it is always worth taking a look at the Operating and Heating Costs Ordinance. 

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In particular, the following regularly incurred costs can be passed on to the tenants:

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1. Current public charges on the property, for example property tax
2. Water supply
3. House and property drainage
4. Central heating systems
5. Central hot water supply systems
6. Connected heating and hot water supply systems
7. Passenger and freight elevator
8. Street cleaning and garbage disposal
9. Building cleaning and vermin control
10. Garden maintenance
11. Lighting
12. Chimney cleaning
13. Property and liability insurance
14. Janitor
15. Community antenna system
16. Laundry care facilities
17. other operating costs within the meaning of § 1

There are a total of 17 apportionable cost items that can easily be passed on to the tenants.

Tip: Even if the property tax is not included in the building charges, it can still be passed on to the tenants in the service charge statement.  

Which costs of the house charges are not apportionable?

However, not all costs that are part of the building charges are apportionable. This means that certain expenses cannot be apportioned to the tenants. These include, for example, maintenance reserves that are to be saved for larger repairs or modernization measures. These reserves are usually invested separately by the owners in a joint account.

Maintenance and renovation costs such as painting or roof repairs cannot be included directly in the apportionable costs. In addition, there are administrative costs such as account fees for the WEG account and costs for property management. These must also be borne and settled separately by the owners. It is important that the relevant resolutions are passed at the owners' meeting and that a clear arrangement is made as to how these costs are to be distributed.

Note: All apportionable costs of the house charges are recorded in the operating costs catalog of §2 BetrKV.

How much is the apportionable house charge?

You already know the apportionable cost items, but how much of the building costs do the tenants actually have to pay? As a rule, it can be said that about 60 percent of the building charges consist of apportionable cost items that you can pass on to the tenants.

However, this can vary significantly depending on the homeowners' association, as the following two examples illustrate:

- If the property is well insulated, the landlord/landlady saves money and this cost item decreases.

- If the property has to be refurbished soon, the house fees may increase because the owners are currently saving up maintenance reserves.

Keeping an eye on all apportionable costs - Ralph helps you with that

As condominium owners, it is advisable to always keep an eye on the house fees and to be aware of the costs they contain. Transparent communication and good property management can be helpful - also to avoid possible disagreements and to lead a harmonious community of owners.

Compared to traditional property management, at Ralph we use modern software and digital platforms to automate and simplify administrative tasks. This makes the property management process faster and more efficient. We also place great emphasis on our customer service and offer solutions tailored to the needs of apartment owners. Feel free to check out our property management costs to learn more about us.