Betriebskosten in English

Legal status: October 2026

What can your landlord charge in Germany? The Betriebskosten list in English

Your landlord cannot put just anything into your utility bill. German law has a fixed list of costs that may be passed on to tenants, and a clear line for what never may. Here is the full Betriebskosten list in English, with what each item covers and what your landlord can never charge.

By Phil Holthaus & Johann Slawski, founders of nebify — Nebenkostenabrechnungen checked by people and software.

Last updated October 26, 2026

Key facts at a glance

Your landlord can only charge operating costs (Betriebskosten): recurring costs of the building listed in § 2 of the Operating Costs Ordinance (BetrKV).
There are 17 cost types, from property tax and water to caretaker and “other operating costs”.
Your rental contract must say that you bear the operating costs. Other operating costs (No. 17) must be named one by one.
Management fees and repairs can never be passed on to residential tenants (§ 1 (2) BetrKV).
If something is charged that should not be, object in writing within 12 months of receiving the statement.

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On this page

1. Short answer
2. The basic rule: three conditions
3. The Betriebskosten list in English: all 17 cost types
4. Where the limits are: item by item
5. What your landlord can never charge
6. Why your rental contract matters
7. How the costs are split
8. Special cases: condo, flat rate, furnished flat
9. Common mistakes
10. How to check what you have to pay
11. What you can do
12. FAQ

Short answer

In Germany, your landlord can only charge the recurring operating costs listed in § 2 of the Betriebskostenverordnung, and only if your rental contract says you bear them. The list has 17 cost types: property tax, water, sewage, heating, hot water, lift, street cleaning and waste, building cleaning, garden care, lighting, chimney sweep, insurance, caretaker, antenna and cable, laundry facilities and other operating costs. Management fees and repairs are never operating costs. One-off costs are not either. Everything outside this list stays with your landlord, even if your contract says otherwise.

The basic rule: three conditions

A cost may only appear in your utility bill if all three conditions are met:

1. Agreed in your contract
Your rental contract must say that you bear operating costs. Without that, the rent covers everything.
2. A recurring operating cost
It must arise on an ongoing basis from owning or using the building (§ 1 (1) BetrKV). One-off costs do not count.
3. On the list
It must fit one of the 17 cost types in § 2 BetrKV. Anything not on the list, and not agreed as “other operating costs”, may not be passed on.

The legal starting point is short:

„Die Vertragsparteien können vereinbaren, dass der Mieter Betriebskosten trägt.“

In English: “The parties to the contract may agree that the tenant bears the operating costs.”

§ 556 (1) sentence 1 BGB — our translation; only the German text is binding

On top of that, your landlord must follow the principle of economic efficiency (§ 556 (3) sentence 1 BGB): even allowed costs may not be inflated. And the costs must be split by a correct key.

The Betriebskosten list in English: all 17 cost types

This is § 2 BetrKV in plain English, with the German name you will see on your statement and the average the German Tenants' Association (Deutscher Mieterbund) found for 2024, per m² of living space per month, where it publishes one.

§ 2 BetrKV: what your landlord may pass on
No.	German name	What it covers	Ø per m²/month
1	Laufende öffentliche Lasten (Grundsteuer)	Property tax and other recurring public charges on the land	€0.18
2	Wasserversorgung	Water supply, basic fees, meter rental, calibration, reading and billing	€0.29¹
3	Entwässerung	Sewage and rainwater fees, private drainage system or pump	¹
4	Heizung	Central heating: fuel, operating electricity, maintenance, cleaning, metering devices and billing	€1.32²
5	Warmwasser	Central hot water supply or supplied hot water	²
6	Verbundene Heizungs- und Warmwasseranlagen	Combined heating and hot water systems	²
7	Aufzug	Lift: operating electricity, supervision, maintenance, inspections, cleaning	€0.20
8	Straßenreinigung und Müllbeseitigung	Street cleaning and waste collection	€0.04 / €0.16
9	Gebäudereinigung und Ungezieferbekämpfung	Cleaning of shared areas and pest control	€0.21
10	Gartenpflege	Garden care, play areas, non-public paths and driveways	€0.15
11	Beleuchtung	Electricity for outdoor lighting and shared areas (Allgemeinstrom)	€0.06
12	Schornsteinreinigung	Chimney sweep fees, unless already in heating	€0.04
13	Sach- und Haftpflichtversicherung	Building insurance (fire, storm, water, natural hazards), glass, liability	€0.31
14	Hauswart	Caretaker, without repair, renovation and management work	€0.21³
15	Gemeinschafts-Antenne, Breitbandnetz, Glasfaser	Shared antenna, cable network, in-building fibre network	€0.07⁴
16	Wäschepflege	Shared washing machines and dryers	–
17	Sonstige Betriebskosten	Other operating costs, only if named individually in your contract	€0.07

¹ Water and sewage together. ² Heating and hot water together. ³ €0.21 where cleaning, garden and winter service are billed separately, otherwise about €0.37. ⁴ 2024 value, still includes the first half of the year with cable fees. – no separate average published. Source: Deutscher Mieterbund, Betriebskostenspiegel, billing year 2024. Overall average including heating: €2.67 per m² per month. Not every building has every item, so the item averages do not add up to the overall average.

→ Average utility costs in Germany per m², with examples by flat size → Umlagefähige Nebenkosten: the full list in German

Where the limits are: item by item

Most disputes are not about whether a cost type is on the list, but about what is inside it:

Caretaker (Hauswart)
Only the routine work. Repairs, renovation and management tasks the caretaker does must be taken out (§ 2 No. 14 BetrKV). Work already billed elsewhere, such as cleaning, may not be charged twice.
Insurance
Building insurance against fire, storm, water and natural hazards, glass and liability insurance. Not the landlord's rent-loss or legal expenses insurance.
Waste collection
Regular fees and bulky waste on a regular basis. Not a one-off clearance of a cellar or flat.
Garden care
Care of existing green areas, including replacing plants. Not first-time landscaping or a redesign.
Heating
Fuel, operating electricity, maintenance, cleaning, meter rental and billing. Not repairs of the boiler, and not the user change fee (BGH, 14 November 2007, VIII ZR 19/07).
Cable TV and fibre
Cable TV fees could only be passed on until 30 June 2024. A fibre network fee is possible only under strict conditions (§ 556 (3a) BGB).
Other operating costs
Only recurring costs that are named one by one in your contract, e.g. gutter cleaning or inspection of fire extinguishers.

What your landlord can never charge

§ 1 (2) BetrKV draws two clear lines. The first is management:

„die Kosten der zur Verwaltung des Gebäudes erforderlichen Arbeitskräfte und Einrichtungen, die Kosten der Aufsicht, der Wert der vom Vermieter persönlich geleisteten Verwaltungsarbeit, die Kosten für die gesetzlichen oder freiwilligen Prüfungen des Jahresabschlusses und die Kosten für die Geschäftsführung (Verwaltungskosten)“

In English: “the costs of the staff and facilities needed to manage the building, the costs of supervision, the value of the landlord's own management work, the costs of statutory or voluntary audits of the annual accounts and the costs of management (management costs)”

§ 1 (2) No. 1 BetrKV: not operating costs — our translation; only the German text is binding

The second is repairs:

„die Kosten, die während der Nutzungsdauer zur Erhaltung des bestimmungsmäßigen Gebrauchs aufgewendet werden müssen, um die durch Abnutzung, Alterung und Witterungseinwirkung entstehenden baulichen oder sonstigen Mängel ordnungsgemäß zu beseitigen (Instandhaltungs- und Instandsetzungskosten)“

In English: “the costs that must be spent during the period of use to maintain the intended use, in order to properly remedy structural or other defects caused by wear, ageing and weather (maintenance and repair costs)”

§ 1 (2) No. 2 BetrKV: not operating costs — our translation; only the German text is binding

May be charged (if agreed)

Property tax
Water, sewage, heating, hot water
Waste collection, street cleaning
Cleaning of shared areas
Garden care, lighting, chimney sweep
Building and liability insurance
Caretaker (routine work only)

Never chargeable to you

Property management fees
Bank and account charges
Repairs and replacement parts
Rent-loss and legal expenses insurance
Costs of vacant flats
First-time landscaping
Reserve funds of a condominium

→ Overview on our English main page

Why your rental contract matters

Many German rental contracts say that the tenant pays “die Betriebskosten im Sinne des § 2 BetrKV” and often attach the list. That is the common case. According to the Federal Court of Justice, even the short wording that the tenant pays “the operating costs” is enough for the cost types in § 2 Nos. 1 to 16 (judgment of 10 February 2016, VIII ZR 137/15).

Other operating costs (No. 17) are different. They may only be passed on if the specific costs are agreed (BGH, judgment of 7 April 2004, VIII ZR 167/03). A contract that only says “sonstige Betriebskosten” is usually not enough. If it says “Dachrinnenreinigung, Wartung der Rauchmelder”, exactly those may be charged, and nothing else that is later added under “other”.

Find your contract and look for the section on operating costs (often “§ 4 Miete und Betriebskosten” or an annex). If it says “Pauschale”, you pay a flat fee and there is no yearly statement. If it says “Vorauszahlung”, you get a statement.

How the costs are split

„Haben die Vertragsparteien nichts anderes vereinbart, sind die Betriebskosten vorbehaltlich anderweitiger Vorschriften nach dem Anteil der Wohnfläche umzulegen.“

In English: “Unless the parties have agreed otherwise, the operating costs are to be allocated according to the share of living space, subject to other provisions.”

§ 556a (1) sentence 1 BGB — our translation; only the German text is binding

Common allocation keys

Floor area (Wohnfläche): the legal default without an agreement
Persons (Personen): often for waste or water without meters
Consumption (Verbrauch): water with meters; heating and hot water by law
Units (Wohneinheiten): same share per flat, e.g. for cable or smoke detectors
Co-ownership shares (MEA): often in rented condominiums

Costs that depend on recorded consumption must be split in a way that reflects consumption (§ 556a (1) BGB). For heating and hot water, 50 to 70 % must be split by consumption under the Heating Costs Ordinance.

Special cases: condo, flat rate, furnished flat

Rented condominium (Eigentumswohnung).Your landlord receives a house money statement (Hausgeldabrechnung) from the owners' association. It contains items you never pay, such as the administrator's fee and the reserve fund. Your landlord must turn it into a proper operating costs statement for you.
Flat rate (Pauschale). If your contract agrees a flat rate, there is no yearly statement and no back payment. Your landlord cannot switch to advance payments on their own.
Furnished flat, all-inclusive rent. Common for short stays. Check the contract: an all-inclusive rent means no separate Nebenkostenabrechnung.

Common mistakes: what ends up in the bill but shouldn't

Management in disguise
The property manager's fee, account charges or postage, hidden under “Sonstiges” or caretaker.
Repairs in maintenance items
A new pump, a replaced door closer or a repaired gutter billed as maintenance, caretaker or garden care.
Other costs not named
Items under “other operating costs” that your contract does not list individually.
Insurance that is not yours
The landlord's rent-loss or legal expenses insurance listed among the building insurance.
One-off costs
Clearing out a cellar, felling a tree, an expert report: not recurring, so not operating costs.
Cable TV after June 2024
Cable fees for the period after 30 June 2024 still charged.

Would you spot a repair hidden in the caretaker invoice?

The statement only shows totals. Whether the caretaker also repaired doors, whether “Sonstiges” contains management fees, or whether an item is agreed in your contract only shows in the invoices and the contract. We check every item for you.

Check my statement for free Full report from €24.90

How to check what you have to pay

1
Open your rental contract
Find the operating costs clause. Note whether it says “Vorauszahlung” or “Pauschale” and which “other operating costs” are named.
2
Match every item
For each line of your statement, find the matching number in the list above. If there is none, ask what it is.
3
Look for excluded costs
Management, repairs, bank charges, one-off costs, cable TV after June 2024.
4
Check the key
Is each item split by the agreed key, or by floor area if nothing was agreed? Is your area right?
5
Ask for invoices
For caretaker, maintenance and “other” items, ask to see the invoices (§ 556 (4) BGB).

→ How to read a German utility bill

What you can do

Object in writing to every item that is not allowed, with the reason, within 12 months after receiving the statement (§ 556 (3) BGB).
Pay only the correct part of a back payment. Paying does not mean accepting the statement.
Claim money back if you already paid for costs that were not allowed, within the same 12 months.

→ Nachzahlung: when you have to pay → The 12-month deadlines explained

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Find out which costs you really have to pay

Whether a cost may be charged depends on the law, on your rental contract and on what is inside each invoice. The statement itself shows none of that. We compare all three, mark every item that is not allowed, and give you an English summary plus a German letter to your landlord.

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FAQ: what landlords can charge

What can a landlord charge in Germany?

Only operating costs (Betriebskosten): recurring costs listed in § 2 of the Operating Costs Ordinance (BetrKV), such as property tax, water, heating, waste collection, cleaning, garden care, insurance and caretaker. In addition, your rental contract must say that you bear the operating costs. Management fees and repairs can never be passed on to residential tenants.

What is the Betriebskostenverordnung?

The Operating Costs Ordinance (BetrKV) is the German regulation that defines operating costs. § 1 says what operating costs are and what they are not (management and repairs). § 2 lists 17 cost types that landlords may pass on to tenants if the rental contract allows it.

Can my landlord charge management fees (Verwaltungskosten)?

Not in a residential tenancy. Management costs are expressly excluded from operating costs (§ 1 (2) No. 1 BetrKV). This includes the property manager's fee, bank charges, postage and the cost of preparing the statement.

Can my landlord charge repairs to tenants?

Not as operating costs. Repair and maintenance costs to fix defects caused by wear, ageing or weather are excluded (§ 1 (2) No. 2 BetrKV). Watch out for repairs hidden in items such as caretaker, garden care or maintenance.

Is it enough if my contract just says “Betriebskosten”?

For the cost types in § 2 Nos. 1 to 16 BetrKV, yes: according to the Federal Court of Justice, an agreement that the tenant pays “the operating costs” is sufficient (BGH, 10 February 2016, VIII ZR 137/15). Other operating costs (No. 17) must be named individually in the contract (BGH, 7 April 2004, VIII ZR 167/03).

Can my landlord still charge for cable TV?

No longer as operating costs. The right to pass on cable TV fees through the Nebenkosten ended on 30 June 2024. The operating electricity of a shared antenna and a special rule for new fibre networks remain.

How are the costs split between tenants?

By the key agreed in your contract. Without an agreement, the law says costs are split by floor area (§ 556a (1) BGB). Costs that depend on recorded consumption, such as water with meters, must be split in a way that reflects consumption. Heating and hot water follow the Heating Costs Ordinance.

What if my landlord charges costs that are not allowed?

Object in writing within 12 months of receiving the statement and name the item and the reason (§ 556 (3) BGB). You only owe the correct part. You may also ask to see the invoices (§ 556 (4) BGB).

Is your landlord charging more than allowed?

Upload your statement to the free pre-check. You see in English which items look suspicious and whether a full check is worth it.

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Legal note: This guide gives general information and is not legal advice on your individual case. Whether an item in your statement is actually not allowed depends on your rental contract and the facts of your case. For legal questions, a tenants' association (Mieterverein) or a lawyer specialising in tenancy law (Fachanwalt für Mietrecht) can help you.

More guides in English

Sources: § 1 BetrKV · § 2 BetrKV · § 556 BGB · § 556a BGB · Deutscher Mieterbund: Betriebskostenspiegel; BGH, judgments of 7 Apr 2004 (VIII ZR 167/03), 14 Nov 2007 (VIII ZR 19/07) and 10 Feb 2016 (VIII ZR 137/15).