Nebenkostenabrechnung explained: your German utility bill, the deadlines and how to object

You have just received a German letter with a table, a lot of „€/m²" and a line saying Nachzahlung: 480 €. This guide explains what the statement is, what your landlord may charge, when it is too late – and how to check it in two minutes even if your German is limited.

Nebenkosten meaning: what the German utility bill actually is

Your rent contract names a Kaltmiete (base rent) and a Warmmiete (base rent plus Nebenkostenvorauszahlung, the monthly advance for operating costs). „Nebenkosten" – literally „side costs" – are the building's running costs the landlord is allowed to pass on: heating and hot water, water and sewage, property tax, caretaker, cleaning, lift, insurance, waste collection, garden. Electricity for your own flat and your internet are not Nebenkosten; you contract those yourself. Once a year the landlord compares what you paid in advance with your share of the actual costs. The difference is either a Nachzahlung (you pay the shortfall) or a Guthaben (you get a refund). A German-English word list for every line item is on the German version of this page.

What may be charged – and what never may

The catalogue is § 2 of the Betriebskostenverordnung (BetrKV): 1 property tax (Grundsteuer), 2 water, 3 sewage, 4–6 heating and hot water, 7 lift, 8 street cleaning and waste, 9 building cleaning and pest control, 10 garden, 11 lighting of common areas, 12 chimney sweep, 13 building and liability insurance, 14 caretaker (Hauswart), 15 antenna/cable (only until 30 June 2024), 16 laundry facilities, 17 „other" costs – but only those named explicitly in your contract. Everything else is the landlord's own expense: property management fees (Verwaltungskosten), repairs and maintenance (Instandhaltung, Reparaturen), bank charges, reserves (Rücklage), vacancy. If any of these appear in your statement, you do not have to pay them – the German explainer with a sample objection is nicht umlagefähige Nebenkosten. Benchmarks: German tenants paid on average 2.67 € per m² per month in 2024 (Deutscher Mieterbund), up to 3.68 € if every category applies – table by cost type.

The deadline: 12 months – and what happens if it is missed

§ 556 (3) of the German Civil Code (BGB) is strict: the statement must arrive within twelve months after the end of the billing period (usually the calendar year). The statement for 2025 therefore has to be in your letterbox by 31 December 2026. If it arrives later, the landlord loses any back payment for that year – unless the delay was not his fault, which is rare. Your refund (Guthaben) is still owed even if the statement is late. The same 12-month rule applies after you move out: the landlord cannot keep your deposit „until the statement is done" for longer than that. Deadline tables for every billing year: Nebenkostenabrechnung Frist (German).

Reading the statement: the six blocks

Heating (Heizkosten): if the building has central heating, the Heizkostenverordnung requires 50–70 % of the cost to be split by measured consumption and the rest by floor space. If your consumption was not measured at all, you may cut the heating line by 15 % (§ 12 HeizkostenV). Since 2023 the CO2 price on gas and oil is shared between landlord and tenant depending on the building's energy class – the landlord must show the split. Details (German): Heizkostenabrechnung prüfen.

Your rights: object, inspect, pay under reservation

Object within 12 months of receipt (§ 556 (3) sentence 5 BGB) – in writing, naming the disputed lines. After that, formal errors can no longer be raised. Inspect the invoices (Belegeinsicht, § 259 BGB): the landlord must let you see every underlying bill and contract; you may take photos, copies cost a small fee. Pay under reservation: a due back payment should be transferred within about 30 days to avoid default – add „Zahlung unter Vorbehalt" to the bank reference and you keep the right to reclaim it. The deposit is not a piggy bank: a landlord may only offset a back payment against your Kaution after you have moved out and the claim is undisputed or settled. Ready-made German letters for all of this: objection, request for invoices, payment under reservation, deposit reclaim.

What to do when the statement arrives – step by step

1. Note the date it arrived; it starts your 12-month objection window and the 30-day payment window. 2. Photograph or upload the statement to the free Nebenkosten check: it reads every line, compares it with § 2 BetrKV, the allocation rules and the benchmarks above, and marks anything you should not be paying – with the amount and the legal basis. Half of all findings are shown free of charge; the full report with a ready-to-send objection costs 9.99 € once. 3. Send the objection in German (the templates do the wording), ask for the invoices, pay the undisputed part under reservation. 4. If you receive Bürgergeld or housing benefit, submit the statement to the Jobcenter in the month the back payment is due – it counts as a one-off housing cost (German guide).

Frequently asked questions

Sources

§ 556 BGB (billing duty, 12-month deadline, objection period) · § 2 BetrKV (17 allowable cost categories) · § 259 BGB (inspection of invoices) · §§ 7, 12 Heizkostenverordnung · Deutscher Mieterbund, Betriebskostenspiegel 2024 · Stand: August 2026