ancillary cost settlement
May 18, 2010 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Bernhard Müller
Here is my question:
Since 01.08.08 my condominium has been rented out. After the 2009 utility bill settlement, my tenant now refuses to pay the following utilities: caretaker costs, house cleaning, and minor repairs. These costs are not listed individually in the rental agreement. However, when signing the lease, I presented her with the previous utility bill settlements from the property manager and discussed in detail which costs I would pass on to her. Am I as the landlord obligated to list all incurred utilities in detail in the rental agreement?
Kind regards
Dear questioner,
It is sufficient if you use general formulations in the contract such as: "The tenant pays all allocable operating costs", or "the costs mentioned in the operating cost regulation".
However, if you have chosen a list instead of this general formulation, then this list must also be complete or the listed operating costs must be clearly marked as examples in the contract.
Cleaning of the house is one of the operating costs that can be allocated. The costs for the caretaker are in principle also. However, it depends on what the caretaker does. If he also takes on tasks of administration or maintenance, then these are not allocable. This must then appear in the statement:
Caretaker X euros of which Y euros are for maintenance and administration, Z euros are allocable (X - Y).
However, small repairs are not part of the operating costs. If you want to transfer small repairs to your tenant, you need a small repair clause in the rental agreement. This could be, for example:
The tenant is responsible for small repairs of up to X euros per repair. The total burden from small repairs in a year must not exceed Y% of the annual net rent.
Important: If a small repair costs more than X euros, it does not fall under the small repair clause and must be paid in full by you, not partially by the tenant.
Without a small repair clause in the rental agreement, small repairs must be paid by you.
I hope that I was able to help you with my answer.
Yours sincerely,
Bernhard Müller Attorney
