Check your service-charge statement: deadline, amount, advance
Four figures from the statement tell you whether it came in time, whether the costs stand out and what advance payment is reasonable.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Top-up due under the statement
€130
| Statement had to arrive by | 31 December 2026 |
| Objections possible until | 30 June 2027 |
| Cold service charges per m² per month | €1.92/m² |
| Berlin average 2024 (cold) | €1.93/m² |
| Heating and hot water per m² per month | €1.47/m² |
| Berlin average 2024 (warm) | €1.50/m² |
| Reasonable advance payment from now | €220.83 / month |
Where an item is well above the Berlin average, ask to inspect the receipts (Section 556(4) BGB). The comparison is guidance, not a legal entitlement.
How we calculateYour landlord must settle the service charges (Betriebskosten, often called Nebenkosten) once a year, and the statement must reach you within twelve months of the end of the billing period (Section 556(3) of the Civil Code). For calendar year 2025 that means by 31 December 2026. If it arrives later, the landlord can no longer claim a top-up unless the delay was not his fault; he must still pay out any credit. You can object until the end of the twelfth month after receiving it. The calculator shows both deadlines, converts your cold and warm service charges into euros per square metre and month and sets them against the Berlin service-charge overview 2026: €1.93 cold and €1.50 warm for the 2024 billing year. In the 65 m² example that gives €1.92 cold and €1.47 warm, a top-up of €130 and a reasonable advance of €220.83 instead of €210 a month.
What the calculator does with four figures
You enter the end of the billing period, the day the statement arrived, your floor area, the total of cold service charges, the total for heating and hot water and your monthly advance. That gives three answers. First the deadlines from Section 556(3) BGB: when the statement had to arrive and until when you may object. Second the level: the annual amount divided by floor area and twelve months, the method of the Berlin service-charge overview. Third the advance: under Section 560(4) BGB either side may adjust it to a reasonable level after a statement; the calculator spreads the result over twelve months.
Example with 65 m²
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| cold service charges 2025 | €1,500 = €1.92 per m² and month |
| heating and hot water 2025 | €1,150 = €1.47 per m² and month |
| advance payments | 12 × €210 = €2,520 |
| top-up | €130 |
| new advance | €220.83 |
| statement due by | 31 December 2026 |
| objections until | 30 June 2027 |
Had the same statement only arrived on 8 January 2027, the landlord could no longer have claimed the €130. Which items may be passed on at all is set out in the Service Charges Ordinance in 17 numbered items; the service charges page explains each. Heating costs follow their own rules, with rights to deduct, described on the heating statement page.