Finding a suitable place to live in Germany can be Quite expensive. However there are a few ways that can help you reduce your rent in Germany as you will learn in this guide.
So When you begin your search for a place to rent in Germany, you come across 2 terms, Kalt Miete or Cold Rent and Warm Miete or warm rent.
How to Reduce your Rent in Germany
What are Nebenkosten?
The most important difference between the warm and cold rent is the additional costs or the Nebenkosten . The cold rent only includes the pure provision of the living space, the warm rent also includes the additional costs that make a place livable.
The basic rent or cold rent is calculated based on the size of the apartment or property and the local comparative rent. As long as there is no rent cap and other regulations such as the capping limit your landlord is largely free to set the cold rent .
How high the rent will ultimately be depends on the cold rent and the additional costs . And because of the additional costs the total rent you have to pay might be significantly higher than the cold rent.
Can Nebenkosten increase your Rent in Germany?
Your landlord passes on various expenses of the house to you the renter which you will find out in the video. However when you get the rental contract these additional costs are an approximation. These approximations can be based on the previous renters or calculations from the landlord.
Each month you pay the cold rent which is fixed and the approximated additional costs to the landlord. Every twelve months, your landlord send you a utility bill or the nebenkostenabrechnung. This utility bill contains a precise breakdown of the costs actually incurred. In many cases, you as the renter have to make additional payments if you use more than expected and in some cases you receive a refund from the landlord if they have estimated more than your usage.
Here there might be an exception for those renters who have a Flat Rate for additional Costs. This flat rate means that no matter how much or how less of the services in the Additional costs you use , the landlord will always cut a fixed rate. This flat rate is mostly appled on Shared Housing or WG. However some landlords may also put a flat rate on other types of housing. For example I was paying a flat rate on additional costs for my appartment up until last year.
So what is Included in the Additional Costs.
Simply put What you have to pay in terms of additional costs is stated in your rental agreement. But not all cost items have to be listed individually there. It is enough if the contract points to the operating costs according to the Operating Costs Ordinance. If there is no reference to the regulation in the contract, you only have to pay the items mentioned. If you don’t find any regulations regarding operating costs, then you don’t have to pay any additional costs.
Generally speaking you will find these Operating costs in your Nebenkosten:
Heating and hot water
This is by far the largest item in every utility bill. Hot water costs are usually also included in the heating costs. Thats why Many heating cost bills are incorrect as:
The landlord must bill heating costs and hot water costs based on consumption. Instead of consumption most landlords estimate the costs or calculate using a formula. If you landlord does this then , then you may be allowed to pay 15% less for the hot water costs.
Cold water and wastewater
In this situation, your landlord can combine the charges for cold water and wastewater. They may also include the expenses for stormwater fees or surface drainage as drainage costs. Additionally, the costs for conducting regular legionella testing in apartment buildings can be passed on to tenants.
Caretaker
If your apartment has a Hausmeister, Your landlord cannot charge you for all caretaker expenses. The caretaker’s salary and social security contributions are additional costs shared by all tenants. However, if the caretaker’s duties include property management or repairs, you are not responsible for paying for those specific tasks.
If your landlord does not provide a breakdown of the caretaker costs, you can subtract a flat rate of 20 percent from your utility bill. The caretaker might also perform gardening or stairwell cleaning duties. The landlord cannot bill you separately for these tasks as cleaning or gardening expenses. Otherwise, you would be paying twice.
Cable connection
When you sign the rental agreement, you can agree that your landlord will arrange a cable service agreement with a provider. In this case, the costs incurred can be passed on to you when billing the operating costs, regardless of whether you use the connection or if it’s working properly. However, if the connection is faulty, you have the right to reduce the rent.
Previously you had to agree to this agreement, as there was no choice. But The good news is that starting from July 1st, 2024, landlords will no longer be allowed to pass on cable fees to tenants. Every tenant should have the opportunity to choose their own service provider according to the new Telecommunications Act. So if you only use streaming services and opt out of this connection you can save you around 10€ per month!
Other Costs that increase your rent in Germany
Other Costs in the Nebenkostenabrechnung include Property tax, Elevator costs even if you do not use it, Street cleaning and waste disposal, Garden maintenance, Lighting, Chimney cleaning and Insurances like Property, Liability and Water Damage insurances.
Related Guide: 9 Rights as a Renter in Germany that you must know!
How you can reduce your Rent in Germany
Alright now you know which costs your Landlord can include in the Nebenkosten let me share how you can reduce your Rent in Germany with the help of your Utility Bill!
The key point to remember about the Utility or Nebenkosten bill is that your landlord must provide it within twelve months after the billing period ends. Typically, the billing period concludes on December 31st. This means that the landlord has one year to settle the bill. For Example, the Utility bill for 2023 should be given to you by the end of 2024.
After twelve months have passed since the year ended, your landlord cannot ask for additional payment. However, you still have the right to receive a credit. Even after twelve months, you can still request a Nebenkostenabrechnung.
Even if your landlord provides you the utility bill on time you can reduce your rent in Germany by simply checking it. As 90% of the Utility bills have errors in it! Here are some
Typical mistakes that you should pay attention to in the Utility Bill
- If your hot water costs are not calculated based on your actual usage, but instead estimated or determined by a formula, you can reduce the amount by 15%.
- Make sure all the costs listed in your bill match what is stated in your rental agreement. If any costs are missing from the agreement, you don’t have to pay them.
- You can dispute charges that your landlord has passed on to you but should be responsible for themselves, such as repair costs, fees for smoke detectors or fire extinguishers, bank fees, one-time gutter cleaning, or insurance contributions.
- If your landlord takes more than twelve months to provide the annual bill, they cannot ask for additional payments from you.
- If there is a commercial unit in your residential building, the additional costs associated with it should be accounted for separately. If these costs are distributed among all tenants, including residential tenants, you can challenge the billing.
- If you have recently moved in, your landlord can only charge you for the months that you have lived in the house, not for the entire year.
- Ensure that the distribution keys used to allocate the costs are accurate. Compare them with the information in your rental agreement. Here I would advice expats to measure your apartment to ensure that costs based on living space are calculated correctly. You might have even asked your landlord to write a larger number on your contract just because you wanted to invite your spouse and children. But be aware this may cost you hundreds of Euros each year!
How can you object to Nebenkostenabrechnung?
Alright, so you have checked your Utility bill and found some inaccuracies. If you found errors when checking the Nebenkostenabrechnung, you can object and ask your landlord for clarification.
You have a time limit of twelve months to express your concerns about the bill. The deadline for this ends exactly twelve months after you have received the statement.
The one-year period only begins when your landlord provides a clear and understandable statement. If they send you a utility bill that doesn’t explain how the costs are divided among the apartments for different items, it’s not a correct billing.
The one-year deadline also applies to you if you have previously raised the same objection in invoices from past years.
Invoices may mention that objections must be made within four weeks. This means that the payment is due after 30 days. Even if you object, any extra money you owe or any credit you have must be paid within four weeks. Make sure to write “Additional payment subject to change” on the transfer When making the payment. Remember that you still have twelve months to raise objections, despite the four-week objection period.
It’s important to clearly specify which costs you disagree with. Simply saying that the costs are too high or the increases are hard to understand is not enough.
Related Guide: Why Renting in Germany can be a Pain
Assistance to help you reduce your rent in Germany
To get assistance in this to help you reduce your rent in Germany you can Contact your Tenant Association.
The local tenant association is the main point of contact and is well-known for providing assistance. The experts at the association have a good understanding of the subject and can offer help. To access their services, you usually need to become a member. And The membership costs can differ from one tenant association to another.
Another option would be to get the help of a Lawyer who can check the Utility bill and take care of the correspondence with your landlord about this matter. Having legal insurance that covers rental disputes could save you a lot of money.
I understand that living as a Tenant can be a huge headache, this might lead you to thinking about Buying your own real estate in Germany. To help you do that, In this guide I share how to buy a house in Germany with Zero Money.