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Utility bill settlement (Nebenkostenabrechnung): how to check it

Once a year, your landlord settles the advance payments for operating costs: you pay extra or get money back. Here is how to check the bill, which deadlines apply and what to do if something looks wrong.

Updated: 02.10.2026

What is the Nebenkostenabrechnung?

In most tenancies, you pay monthly advance payments (Vorauszahlungen) for operating costs (Betriebskosten, often called Nebenkosten) on top of the cold rent. Once a year, the landlord settles them against the actual costs in the Betriebskostenabrechnung, usually called Nebenkostenabrechnung; heating and hot water often come in a separate statement (Heizkostenabrechnung). The result is a back payment (Nachzahlung) or a credit (Guthaben).

Only costs listed in the Operating Costs Ordinance (Betriebskostenverordnung, BetrKV) that your rental contract assigns to you may be charged, in the amount actually incurred; the landlord must keep them economical. “Other operating costs” (sonstige Betriebskosten) count only if the contract names them. Typical items:

  • property tax (Grundsteuer);
  • water supply and sewage;
  • heating and hot water;
  • street cleaning, waste collection and pest control;
  • lift, building cleaning, garden maintenance and lighting of shared areas;
  • chimney sweeping, building insurance and a caretaker (Hauswart).

What may not be charged

  • administration: property management, bank charges, postage;
  • repairs and maintenance, for example of the lift or the heating; only regular servicing and safety checks may be charged;
  • maintenance reserves (Instandhaltungsrücklage), which appear when a landlord passes on the owners’ association statement (Hausgeldabrechnung);
  • the share of empty flats: as a rule, the landlord bears it;
  • rent for smoke detectors;
  • cable TV fees since 1 July 2024.

Deadlines

  • The billing period may be at most 12 months; it need not be the calendar year.
  • The bill must reach you within 12 months after the period ends: for 2025, by 31 December 2026.
  • If it arrives later, the landlord can no longer claim a back payment, unless the delay was not the landlord’s fault. You still get any credit.
  • You can object up to 12 months after receiving the bill; after that, as a rule, no longer.

What a proper bill must show

  • the billing period and, if you moved in or out during it, your period of use;
  • the total costs of each cost type;
  • the distribution key, such as floor area, persons or consumption, explained if needed;
  • the calculation of your share;
  • the deduction of the advance payments you actually made.

Heating, hot water and CO2 costs

  • If one heating system supplies several flats, 50–70% of the heating and hot water costs must be split by measured consumption, the rest usually by floor area (Heizkostenverordnung).
  • If these costs are not billed by consumption although they should be, you may cut your share by 15%.
  • Where metering devices can be read remotely, you are entitled to monthly consumption information; as a rule, all devices must be remotely readable by the end of 2026. If this is missing, you may cut your share by 3%.

Since 2023, the CO2 costs of heating with gas, oil and other fossil fuels have been split between landlord and tenant in ten levels, depending on the building’s CO2 emissions per square metre per year: in very efficient buildings (under 12 kg) the tenant pays everything, in the least efficient ones (52 kg or more) only 5%. The heating bill must show the split; if it does not, you may cut your heating costs by 3%. If you buy the gas for your flat’s own heater (Gasetagenheizung) yourself, claim the landlord’s share in text form, for example by e-mail, within 12 months of your supplier’s bill. For gas and oil heating systems installed since the end of July 2026, a 50/50 split applies from 2028.

Inspecting receipts and objecting

  1. Check the bill soon after it arrives and compare it with last year’s. If one of the points above is missing, the bill is formally defective: a back payment is not due until the landlord corrects it.
  2. If something is unclear, ask in writing to inspect the receipts (Belegeinsicht), such as invoices, contracts and meter readings. This is your right. It usually takes place at the office of the landlord or property manager; you may photograph the documents, and the landlord may also provide them electronically.
  3. Send objections in writing and name the specific points: ideally within 30 days, at the latest 12 months after receiving the bill. Keep proof of sending.
  4. Until the landlord has let you inspect the receipts, you can as a rule withhold the back payment; say so explicitly. If only one item is disputed, pay the rest. If you pay before checking, write “unter Vorbehalt” (with reservation).

Back payment, credit and new advance payments

  • Back payment: if the bill is correct, pay it, as a rule within 30 days of receipt. If that is difficult, ask early about instalments; the landlord does not have to agree.
  • Credit: it is due when you receive the bill. If it has not been paid out after about 30 days, you can usually deduct it from a later rent payment; some contracts require a month’s notice.
  • Advance payments: after each bill, you and the landlord can each adjust them to an appropriate level by a declaration in text form, for example lowering them after a large credit.
  • Jobcenter: if it covers your housing costs, send it the bill at once. It decides whether to cover a back payment, and a credit reduces its later payments; see rent and the Jobcenter.
  • Moving out: if a back payment is expected, the landlord may keep a reasonable part of the deposit until the final bill; see getting your deposit back.

Common mistakes to look for

  • wrong floor area, number of persons or period of use;
  • advance payments missing or lower than what you actually paid;
  • costs from a different billing period;
  • items that may not be charged or are not in your contract;
  • caretaker costs that include repairs or administration;
  • heating not split by consumption, or no CO2 split shown;
  • large increases on the previous year without explanation.

For orientation, compare your bill with last year’s and with the Berliner Betriebskostenübersicht, a table of average Berlin values on berlin.de. It is not binding, but it shows which items are unusually high.

Where to get help

Tenants’ associations (Mietervereine), such as the Berliner Mieterverein, check bills for their members for a monthly fee. Many Berlin districts offer free tenant advice (Mieterberatung); see your district’s pages on berlin.de. The Verbraucherzentrale (consumer advice centre) can also help, and on a low income you can apply at the local court (Amtsgericht) for help with legal advice costs (Beratungshilfe). Which costs you pay is set in your contract: see how to check a rental contract. If your housing costs are too high for your income, check whether you can get Wohngeld, the housing allowance.

General information, not legal advice. Rules and amounts can change and differ between cities, so check the official websites.

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