Average utility costs in Germany: Nebenkosten per square meter and what is normal

Short answer

The average utility costs in Germany are €2.67per square meter per month, heating and hot water included, according to the German Tenants' Association for the billing year 2024. About half of that, €1.32 per m², is heating and hot water. The rest covers items such as building insurance, water and sewage, caretaker, cleaning, property tax and waste collection. For a 70 m² flat, the average comes to about €2,242.80 a year. These figures are for operating costs your landlord may pass on. Electricity for your own flat and internet come on top.

Because Nebenkosten are mostly split by floor area, the simplest estimate is the average per m² times your living space. This table shows the national average for common flat sizes, split into heating and all other costs:

How we calculated: DMB average per m² per month × floor area, and × 12 for the year. Heating: €1.32; other costs: €2.67 − €1.32 = €1.35. Source: Deutscher Mieterbund, billing year 2024.

Some costs are not split by area but by persons or consumption, for example water, waste or hot water. A single person in a large flat may therefore pay less than the table suggests, a family of four in a small flat more.

The DMB also publishes averages for individual cost types. They help you find the item that makes your bill expensive:

Water includes sewage; heating includes hot water. Caretaker: €0.21 where cleaning, garden and winter service are billed separately, otherwise about €0.37. Antenna/cable: 2024 value, still including the first half of the year with cable fees. Not every building has every item (many have no lift), so the item averages do not add up to the overall average. Source: DMB, “Alle Betriebskostenarten im Überblick” (2024).

From 2018 to 2024, the average rose by about 23 %. Heating and hot water make up about half of the total, so changes in energy prices have a strong effect on your bill. If your statement is higher than a few years ago, that alone is normal. What matters is whether each item is allowed and correctly split.

For some cities and federal states, local operating cost surveys exist. They are not all from the same year, so compare with care:

Where no local survey exists, the national value is shown. Regional values often apply to a whole federal state, for example the same value for all cities in North Rhine-Westphalia or Bavaria.

• Included: all operating costs your landlord may pass on, including heating and hot water, water and sewage, property tax, insurance, waste, cleaning, caretaker, garden, lift and shared electricity.
• Not included: electricity for your own flat, gas for a flat-level boiler with your own contract, internet and phone, the broadcasting fee (Rundfunkbeitrag) and your household insurance.
• Not included either: management fees and repairs. They are not operating costs and may never appear in your Nebenkosten.

• Building and insulation

  An old, poorly insulated building needs much more heating energy than a new one.

• Heating type

  Gas, oil, district heating or a heat pump: prices and CO₂ costs differ a lot.

• Building services

  A lift, a caretaker, a large garden or a concierge cost money, and many buildings have none of these.

• Region and municipality

  Water, sewage, waste fees and property tax are set locally and vary between cities.

• Your consumption

  Heating, hot water and water are partly split by consumption. Home office, children or a top-floor flat change your share.

• Errors

  Costs that are not allowed, a wrong key or a wrong floor area raise your share without any real reason.

Flat listings in Germany usually show the base rent (Kaltmiete) and the monthly advance for operating costs (Nebenkosten or Betriebskostenvorauszahlung). The advance is the landlord's estimate, not a price. If it is set low, the flat looks cheaper than it is, and the difference comes back as a back payment after the first year.

A quick reality check: multiply the floor area by the national average. For a 60 m² flat, €2.67 × 60 = €160.20 per month. If the advance in the listing is far below that, ask why. There may be a good reason, for example a new, well-insulated building or a separate gas contract for heating. But ask before you sign.

• Ask for the last operating costs statement of the flat or a comparable flat in the building.
• Ask how the flat is heated, and whether heating and hot water are included in the advance or billed through your own contract.
• Look at the energy performance certificate (Energieausweis). A high energy demand means high heating costs.
• Check whether the building has a lift, a caretaker or a large garden. These items cost money every year.
• Plan your own electricity, internet and the broadcasting fee on top: they are not part of the Nebenkosten.

1. 1

   Take your total costs

   Use your share of the costs before the advance payments are deducted, not the back payment.

2. 2

   Divide by floor area and 12

   Example: €2,400 ÷ 70 m² ÷ 12 = €2.86 per m² per month.

3. 3

   Compare with the average

   Total against €2.67, heating against €1.32, and each item against the table by cost type.

4. 4

   Look at the outliers

   The item that is furthest above its average is where to ask for the invoices.

5. 5

   Compare with last year

   Your own history is often the better benchmark: a sudden jump in one item is a clearer signal than a high level.

• Comparing the back payment

  The Nachzahlung depends on your advance payments. Compare your total costs instead.

• Forgetting heating

  If your heating is billed separately or you have your own gas contract, compare against the average without heating.

• Mixing years

  Compare a 2025 statement with the latest average, and keep in mind that prices rose since.

• Treating the average as a limit

  Being above average is not an error, and being below average does not mean everything is right.

Your landlord must keep operating costs economical. The law says so twice, for the statement and for changes in costs:

• Ask to see the invoices for the items that are clearly above average (§ 556 (4) BGB).
• Object in writing to items that are not allowed or not agreed, within 12 months after receiving the statement (§ 556 (3) BGB).
• If you think a service is overpriced, collect comparison offers. The average alone is not enough (BGH, VIII ZR 340/10).
• Adjust your advance payments after the statement if they are far off (§ 560 (4) BGB).