Service-charge statement: what it must show and how to check it
A statement is only right if you can trace every figure in it back to an invoice from the supplier.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
By when must your statement arrive?
Statement at the latest on
31 December 2026
| End of period | 31 December 2025 |
| After that | no more top-up |
If you pay monthly advances towards service charges (Betriebskosten, often called Nebenkosten), your landlord must send an annual statement (Nebenkostenabrechnung) and keep costs economical, under Section 556(3) of the German Civil Code (BGB). The statement must reach you within 12 months of the end of the billing period. For calendar year 2025 that deadline is 31 December 2026; after it the landlord cannot claim any top-up unless the delay was not his fault. You in turn have 12 months from receipt to object: a statement that arrived on 3 September 2026 can be challenged until 30 September 2027. Costs are split by the key agreed in your lease, and by floor area if nothing was agreed (Section 556a BGB). In a building of 480 m², a 72 m² flat bears exactly 15 per cent of every item, €1,260.00 a year across four items in our example. On request the landlord must let you see the receipts, and may do so electronically.
Two deadlines that run separately
German service-charge law sets one deadline for the landlord and another for you. The landlord must deliver the statement by the end of the 12th month after the billing period closes, as Section 556(3) BGB puts it. What counts is the day the statement reaches you, in your letterbox or the agreed inbox, not the date printed on it. If he misses the deadline he loses any top-up claim, unless the delay was outside his control. A tax notice changed retroactively by the authority would be such a case; an overloaded billing contractor would not.
Your clock starts only on receipt. You must tell the landlord about objections by the end of the 12th month after that. If you let this pass without good reason, you cannot raise anything later, even an item that plainly should never have been charged. The billing period does not have to match the calendar year: many managing agents bill from 1 July to 30 June or from 1 October to 30 September. The table shows how that moves the dates.
| Billing period | Statement due by | Received on | Top-up still possible? | Objections until |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 | 30 June 2026 | 12 May 2026 | yes | 31 May 2027 |
| 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025 | 30 September 2026 | 2 October 2026 | no, too late | 31 October 2027 |
| 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 | 31 December 2026 | 3 September 2026 | yes | 30 September 2027 |
In the second row the statement came two days late. The landlord can no longer demand the balance, but must still refund any credit. The small calculator above gives the deadline for any end date; the full check, including cost per square metre, is in the service-charge check calculator.
How to recognise a statement you can actually verify
The law prescribes no template, but a statement has to let the tenant follow the arithmetic. For every line you need four pieces of information:
- the total cost of that item for the building or estate,
- the allocation key (Umlageschlüssel), such as floor area, meter readings or number of flats,
- the total of that key for the whole building and your figure within it,
- your share in euros.
At the bottom come the advances you actually paid and the resulting balance. Start by checking that the period covers exactly twelve months, that your floor area matches the lease, and that the advances match your bank statements. A wrong advance total is the easiest error to prove, with your bank statement.
The allocation key under Section 556a BGB
Unless your lease says otherwise, costs are shared by floor area (Section 556a(1) BGB). Costs that depend on recorded consumption, such as water measured by flat meters, must be split in a way that reflects that consumption. Heating and hot water follow an extra set of rules, the Heating Costs Ordinance (Heizkostenverordnung), explained on the heating-cost statement page. If you rent a privately owned flat in a building split into condominiums, the key used among the owners applies by default, as long as it is not unfair (Section 556a(3)).
Here is how the floor-area key works for a building with 480 m² of living space and a flat of 72 m².
| Item | Building total | Your share (72 of 480 m²) |
|---|---|---|
| property tax (Grundsteuer) | €2,880 | €432.00 |
| buildings insurance | €1,920 | €288.00 |
| waste collection | €1,440 | €216.00 |
| stairwell cleaning | €2,160 | €324.00 |
| Total | €8,400 | €1,260.00 |
| per m² per month | €1.46 |
If the building total is wrong, every line is wrong. Empty flats or a vacant shop do not shrink the total: the landlord carries their share himself. How floor area should be measured is covered on the floor area page.
What does not belong in the statement
Only costs listed in the Service Charges Ordinance (Betriebskostenverordnung, BetrKV) can be passed on, and only those your lease names. Section 1(2) BetrKV expressly excludes management costs and the costs of maintenance and repair. A bill for fixing the front door, the managing agent's bank charges or a fee for preparing the statement have no place in your share. Such items often hide in the caretaker's invoice: his work is chargeable for gardening, cleaning or inspection rounds, not for repairs or administration. The page on which service charges are allowed goes through the list item by item.
Economy: the landlord has to buy sensibly
The principle of economy (Wirtschaftlichkeitsgebot) appears twice: for the statement in Section 556(3), first sentence, and for changes in costs in Section 560(5) BGB. It obliges the landlord to buy services at market prices and avoid needless costs. In a dispute it is up to you to show that an item is excessive, so previous years and published benchmarks such as the Berlin service-charge overview, which the check calculator uses, are your best evidence. An item that has multiplied since last year is a clear reason to ask why and to inspect the new contract.
Inspecting receipts and objecting, step by step
Section 556(4) BGB lets you inspect the documents, and its second sentence allows the landlord to make them available electronically. A practical sequence:
- Check period, floor area and advances against your own records.
- Compare each item with last year and mark big jumps.
- Ask in writing to see the receipts for exactly those items.
- Send your objections in text form, an e-mail is enough, naming the item and the reason, before your deadline.
Any clause that departs from these rules to your disadvantage is void (Section 556(5) BGB), even if it is in your lease. If the statement ends in a balance to pay, the page on the service-charge top-up explains when it falls due and how your monthly advance may change afterwards.