How to Check Your Nebenkostenabrechnung: A Step-by-Step Guide

A Nebenkostenabrechnung looks, at first glance, like a simple list of numbers. In practice, it regularly contains errors, both in which cost types are included and in the calculation itself. A systematic check catches most of them.

Step 1: Check the deadline and the format

The landlord must deliver the statement no later than 12 months after the end of the billing period (Section 556(3) of the German Civil Code, BGB). If it arrives later, they generally can't demand a top-up payment anymore, unless the delay wasn't their fault. Check the delivery date first.

Step 2: Match every line item against the BetrKV list

Go through each cost item and ask whether it belongs to the operating costs chargeable under Section 1 BetrKV. Common sources of error:

Administrative costs (property-management fees, bookkeeping), explicitly excluded under Section 1(2) No. 1 BetrKV
Repair costs wrongly labelled as maintenance
Renovation reserves hidden inside the statement

Step 3: Recalculate the distribution key

The distribution key stated in the statement, usually floor area or number of occupants, must match the key agreed in your rental contract. Multiply your share of the building's total floor area by the total cost of each item, and compare the result with what the statement shows.

Step 4: Reconcile your advance payments

Add up the monthly advance payments you actually made during the billing period, and compare that total against the payments listed in the statement. Discrepancies here are a common, easily overlooked error.

Step 5: Request to see the supporting documents

If you have doubts about specific line items, you have the right to inspect the original invoices and service-provider contracts held by the landlord or property management. If the landlord refuses, you can withhold payment of the disputed amount until you've seen them.

Step 6: Object within the deadline

If you find an error, object in writing within 12 months of receiving the statement (Section 556(3) BGB). Name the specific line item and explain why it isn't chargeable or was calculated incorrectly.

For the underlying list of what may never appear on your statement in the first place, see our Nebenkosten: costs landlords cannot charge tenants, and for how cold rent, additional costs, and total rent fit together, our Kaltmiete vs Warmmiete guide.