Service-charge top-up: pay, check or refuse?
A top-up is only owed if the statement arrived on time and is correct, and it often brings a higher monthly advance with it.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Top-up and new advance payment
Reasonable new advance
€230
| More per month | €30 |
| Advances per year | €2,760 |
If your annual service-charge statement shows that your monthly advances did not cover the costs, the landlord asks for the difference as a top-up (Nachzahlung). He may only do so if the statement reached you within 12 months of the end of the billing period (Section 556(3) of the Civil Code, BGB). For 2025 that means a statement arriving on 20 November 2026 is in time, while one arriving on 12 January 2027 cannot support a top-up, as long as the delay was the landlord’s fault. After a statement, either side may adjust the monthly advance (Vorauszahlung) to a reasonable level by notice in text form (Section 560(4) BGB). A tenant paying €190 a month who owes a €456 top-up ends up with a new advance of €228.00, €38.00 more each month. After a credit of €300 you may lower it to €165.00 instead. You keep 12 months from receipt to object to the statement, even if you have already paid.
First check whether the claim exists at all
A top-up is the gap between your share of the service charges and the advances you paid during the billing period. Before paying, answer three questions. Did the statement arrive in time? Does it only contain costs that the Service Charges Ordinance (BetrKV) allows and your lease passes on to you? And do the advances deducted match what you actually transferred? If the statement deducts only the agreed amounts rather than the amounts paid, it can show a balance that does not really exist, for instance if you were already paying more after an earlier increase.
A large top-up often shows that the advance was set low from the start. The law only draws a line at the top: under Section 556(2), second sentence, BGB, advances may only be agreed at a reasonable level. A low advance is therefore allowed, and it says nothing about what living in the flat really costs. When you sign a lease, compare the agreed advance with average costs per square metre.
The cut-off in Section 556(3) BGB
The statement must reach you by the end of the 12th month after the billing period ends (Section 556(3), second sentence, BGB). After that, a top-up is barred unless the delay was not the landlord’s fault. That exception is narrow: it covers figures he could not obtain earlier despite every effort, not a short-staffed managing agent. Two statements for calendar year 2025 compared:
| Received | Deadline | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 20 November 2026 | 31 December 2026 | in time, top-up owed |
| 12 January 2027 | 31 December 2026 | too late, no top-up |
What counts is receipt, not the postmark. If the landlord claims he delivered in time, he has to prove it, so keep the envelope and note when the letter arrived. A late statement still has consequences for him: he must pay out any credit, and your own 12-month objection period only starts when you receive it.
Dealing with a top-up step by step
- Check period, floor area and advances against your lease and bank statements.
- Compare each item with last year and flag outliers.
- If in doubt, ask to see the receipts, as described on the service-charge statement page.
- Pay the undisputed amount and object in writing to the rest, or pay under reservation.
Paying under reservation (unter Vorbehalt) means you pay to avoid reminders but expressly keep the right to reclaim the money if the statement turns out wrong. Put it in the payment reference and in a short letter or e-mail. Objections are possible until the end of the 12th month after receipt; for a statement received on 20 November 2026, until 30 November 2027.
The new advance under Section 560(4) BGB
After every statement, landlord and tenant may each adjust the monthly advance to a reasonable level by a notice in text form (Section 560(4) BGB). Reasonable means what is likely to cover the real costs, and the obvious yardstick is the last statement. The small calculator above therefore spreads the result over twelve months and adds it to the current advance.
| Statement result | Amount | New advance | Change per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| small top-up | €456 | €228.00 | +€38.00 |
| large top-up after price rises | €1,140 | €285.00 | +€95.00 |
| credit | €300 | €165.00 | -€25.00 |
The adjustment requires a statement first. The law does not let a landlord raise advances mid-year just because prices went up. The duty of economy in Section 560(5) also applies: costs he should not have incurred cannot justify a higher advance. Any clause to your disadvantage is void (Section 560(6)).
Special cases: flat rate, moving out, heating
If your lease has a flat rate for service charges (Betriebskostenpauschale), there is no statement and so no top-up; the landlord can only raise a flat rate under Section 560(1) and (2), covered on the page about service charges. If you move out, you owe the top-up for the months you lived there; the law does not say how much of the deposit the landlord may hold back for it, see getting your deposit back. And if most of the balance comes from heating and hot water, check your deduction rights on the heating-cost statement page. Deadlines and cost per square metre for your own statement are worked out by the service-charge check.